INTERNATIONAL DESIGN

The Hague Agreement on the International design is sub-divided into three international agreements:

1. the London Act (1934)
2. the Hague Act (1960)
3. the Geneva Act (1999)

These different agreements pose problems concerning the correct definition of the protection obtainable.
Italy signed the Hague Act of 1960, and as a member of the European Community, is party to the Geneva Act of 1999.

The countries signatory to the Hague Convention, as of 10.04.2009, are as follows:
Albania, Belize, Benelux, Benin, Bulgaria, Croatia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Ivory Coast, Liechtenstein, Mali, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Montenegro, Niger, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Surinam, Switzerland and Ukraine.

The countries signatory to the Geneva Convention, as of 10.04.2009, are as follows:
African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), Albania, Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, European Community, France, Georgia, Ghana, Hungary, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Namibia, Oman, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Sao Tome and Principe, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey and Ukraine.

Only those people or juridical bodies with nationality, or which have their domicile, or a stable industrial or commercial organization, in one of the member countries, can file an international application. The Geneva Act says that an application can be filed if one has a habitual residence in a contracting State.

The filing of an International design does not necessarily have to be preceded by a corresponding filing in the applicant’s country of origin. The advantage of choosing the International design to protect one’s ornamental models is a purely economic advantage.

In a single application for an International design, as many as 100 different designs can be included, as long as they are included in a single class of the specific international classification.
Within 6 months of the publication of the International design, according to the Hague Convention (within 12 months according to the Geneva Convention), the national administrations can raise objections according to their national laws, since the effects of International designs in individual countries are governed by specific national laws.