On September 30, 2019, the Government of Viet Nam deposited with the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) its instrument of accession to the Geneva (1999) Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. The agreement will officially take effect for Vietnam after 3 months from the date of submission of the document, i.e. January 1, 2020.
The Hague Agreement Concerns the international registration of industrial designs, also referred to as The Hayes. (French: La Haye). The Hague Agreement governs the international registration of industrial designs. First adopted in 1925, the Agreement effectively establishes an international system – the Hague System – that allows industrial designs to be protected in multiple countries or regions with minimal formalities.
“Joining the Hague Agreement will help Vietnamese enterprises easily register and protect industrial properties in nearly 70 countries as well as foreign enterprises to easily register and protect industrial properties in Vietnam“, said Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh.
The Hague system for the International Registration of Industrial Designs is established to make it possible to register for protection of industrial designs in many countries through a single application, more specifically the Hague System provides a practical business solution for registering up to 100 designs in 74 contracting parties, List of Hague contracting parties covering 91 countries, through the filing of a single international application filed through the International Bureau of WIPO in a single currency (Swiss francs), thereby making it easy for applicants to carry out procedures related to registration for protection, renewal of validity, transfer of ownership and other procedures. The applicant does not need to file individual applications in each country in which they seek for protection, thereby not only avoiding complicated procedures, but also saving time, effort and cost.
The process of Hague industrial design applications at the national stage will follow current legal regulations as applicable to industrial design applications filed on national basis.
The Hague Agreement
Countries that can participate in the Hague Agreement must be a member of the Paris Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); or inter-governmental organizations in which at least one member state of the inter-governmental organization is a member to the Convention Establishing WIPO. Countries participating in Act 1999 and the other ones of the Hague Agreement formed a joint coalition called the Hague Union. To date, the Hague Union has 66 member countries.
On the basis of assessing the progress and improvement of Act 1999 compared to other ones, Vietnam decided to ratify the Hague Agreement under the Act Geneva 1999.
For more details on the Hague Agreement with respect to registration for international industrial design protection under this Agreement designating Vietnam, please contact us:
Dao Danh Phuoc (Mr.)
Head of Patent and Design Department – IPHOUSE & ASSOCIATES
Phone: (+84) 967742458 (direct)
Email: daodanhphuoc@iphouse.vn
Website: http://iphouse.vn/