Marcelo Oliveira de Souza – Head of Patent Department
Diana Marcondes de Paula – Patent Specialist and Patent Technical Coordinator
On February 13, 2023, the Brazilian Government has finally deposited its instrument of accession to the 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The Hague Agreement is an international registration system that offers the possibility of protecting industrial designs in a number of States by means of a single international application filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Upon such deposit, Brazil now becomes the 71th Contracting Party to the 1999 Act and the 79th member of the Hague Agreement. Brazil is the second country in Latin America to join this international agreement after Mexico.
In order to secure that the mechanism of the Hague System will be duly adapted to the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office requirements, the instrument of accession to the 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement at WIPO deposited by the Brazilian government included some restrictions:
-Applications cannot be filed through the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office;
– Each application can have one design with up to twenty variants;
– The indication of the creator of the design is mandatory;
– Deferment of publication will not be possible;
– Level two of standard designation fees will apply;
– The protection of the design application must have a maximum duration of 25 years.
The main objective of the Hague system is to allow the applicants of Industrial designs to register up to 100 designs, provided that they belong to the same class of the Locarno Classification[1], in 96 countries, including Japan, US and UK, by the filing of a single international application with minimum formalities in multiple countries or regions.
All costs are charged in a single currency, Swiss francs (CHF) and immediate and electronic communications for all procedures related to the application, which entail in great facility to the management of design portfolios for the countries members of the Hague system. By filing a single application using the Hague system, there is no need for permanent control of different renewal deadlines for national registrations, which vary from one country to another and requires payments in different rates and currencies.
The filing of the single international application must be done through the eHague system platform, wherein in order to be able to use the benefit of the Hague system, the Applicant must be a national, have domicile or habitual residence, or have a real and effective commercial establishment in a country that is a contracting party (or a member state of an intergovernmental organization party to the Hague Agreement).
Non-residents will also be able to have international design protection in Brazil by means of WIPO’s Hague System, which enable the expansion of business from foreigner companies into Latin America.
The accession of Brazil to the Hague Agreement will enter into force on August 1, 2023, which will bring several changes for design owners that want to protect their rights before the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office.
In general, the adhesion of Brazil to the Hague system is very advantageous to design owners. Now, Brazilian applicants will not need to perform separated filings for each country of interest to have their rights protected, wherein in order to file an international application by Hague Agreement, it is not necessary to have a prior national application/registration. Thus, Brazilian applicants may directly use the Hague system to submitted their design applications.
The filing of a single international application entails in a reduction of costs and time in view of the simplified processing of a single design application with a protection in several jurisdictions, especially since it will not be necessary to file separate documents in various languages and to take into consideration the formalities of each different country, explains Marcelo Oliveira de Souza, Head of Patents at Di Blasi, Parente Associados.
A single international application may be filed in English, French or Spanish at the applicant’s option. Also, by using the Hague system, the applicant will only need to pay the fees related to the international application in a single currency (Swiss francs – CHF) before WIPO.
Therefore, considering the advantages and simplified procedures brought by the Hague system, Brazilian applicants will have a less costly and simplified process upon filing a new industrial design after the Hague system enters into force in Brazil. Also, foreign applicants, such as American, British, Japanese application, will now have one single procedure for registering their designs in the Brazilian market, which will reduce transaction costs and should make Brazil more attractive to investments, especially in “design” and innovation. For this reason, we can expect positive changes and an increase in the demand of filings of industrial designs by the national and foreign design owners.
REFERENCES:
1 -Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs – WIPO;
2 – Summary of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (1925) – https://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/registration/hague/summary_hague.html
3 – Guide to the Hague System International Registration of Designs Under the Hague Agreement – https://www.wipo.int/hague/en/guide/
4 – Brazil Joins the Hague System – https://www.wipo.int/hague/en/news/2023/news_0009.html
5 – O Acordo de Haia Referente ao Registo Internacional dos Desenhos e Modelos Industriais: Principais características e vantagens – https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/pt/designs/911/wipo_pub_911.pdf
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