Today (03), the Decree 11.627/2023 was published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU), promulgating the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, dated July 2, 1999. In February, Brazil ratified its accession to the Act, which aims to replace the internationalization of industrial design registrations through the request for union priority or grace period in each country where protection is sought.

With this accession, Brazil becomes the second Latin American country, alongside Mexico, and the 79th member to join the Convention. Other American countries in the agreement include Belize, Jamaica, São Tomé and Príncipe, Suriname, Canada, and the United States. The accession process to the System began last September when the Chamber of Deputies approved the country’s accession through Legislative Decree No. 274/22.

According to the requirements of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the applications must bear the name of the creator, cannot be submitted through the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) – the international application will be administered by WIPO – and may include up to 20 variants of the designed model. These designs must belong to the same class or subclass of the Locarno Classification and share the same predominant features. Brazil will protect registered designs for 25 years.

Like other international systems for the protection of intellectual property rights administered by WIPO, such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the Madrid System for Marks, the Hague Agreement benefits holders of Industrial Designs seeking protection for their creations in international markets.

As a result of the agreement’s promulgation, Brazilian holders of industrial designs can now seek international protection for their designs in 96 other countries by filing just one single application, instead of filing individual applications in each country where protection is sought. Likewise, residents of the other 96 countries can seek protection for their Industrial Designs in Brazil through the Hague System.

With the enforcement of the Agreement in Brazil, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) began receiving applications for Industrial Designs via the Hague System as of August 1, 2023.