The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs  of November 6, 1925

Complementary Act of Stockholm of July 14, 1967

as amended on September 28, 1979
 

Article 1

[Definitions]

 

For the purposes of this Complementary Act:

"1934 Act"

shall mean the Act signed at London on June 2, 1934, of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs;

"1960 Act"

shall mean the Act signed at The Hague on November 28, 1960, of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs;

"1961 Additional Act"

shall mean the Act signed at Monaco on November 18, 1961, additional to the 1934 Act;

"Organization"

shall mean the World Intellectual Property Organization;

"International Bureau"

shall mean the International Bureau of Intellectual Property;

"Director General"

shall mean the Director General of the Organization;

"Special Union"

shall mean the Hague Union established by the Hague Agreement of November 6, 1925, concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs, and maintained by the 1934 and 1960 Acts, by the 1961 Additional Act, and by this Complementary Act,
 

Article 2

[Assembly]

 

(1)
 

(a)

 The Special Union shall have an Assembly consisting of those countries which have ratified or acceded to this Complementary Act.
 

(b)

 The Government of each country shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
 

(c)

 The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has appointed it.

(2)
 

(a)

 The Assembly shall:
 
 

(i)
  deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the implementation of this Agreement;
 
 

(ii)
  give directions to the International Bureau concerning the preparation for conferences of revision, due account being taken of any comments made by those countries of the Special Union which have not ratified or acceded to this Complementary Act;
 
 

(iii)
  modify the Regulations, including the fixation of the amounts of the fees relating to the international deposit of industrial designs;
 
 

(iv)
  review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General concerning the Special Union, and give him all necessary instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Special Union;
 
 

(v)
  determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Special Union, and approve its final accounts;
 
 

(vi)
  adopt the financial regulations of the Special Union;
 
 

(vii)
  establish such committees of experts and working groups as it may deem necessary to achieve the objectives of the Special Union;
 
 

(viii)
  determine which countries not members of the Special Union and which intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
 
 

(ix)
  adopt amendments to Articles 2 to 5;
 
 

(x)
  take any other appropriate action designed to further the objectives of the Special Union;
 
 

(xi)
  perform such other functions as are appropriate under this Complementary Act.
 

(b)

 With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(3)
 

(a)

 Each country member of the Assembly shall have one vote.
 

(b)

 One-half of the countries members of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum.
 

(c)

 Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (b), if, in any session, the number of countries represented is less than one-half but equal to or more than one-third of the countries members of the Assembly, the Assembly may make decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure, all such decisions shall take effect only if the conditions set forth hereinafter are fulfilled. The International Bureau shall communicate the said decisions to the countries members of the Assembly which were not represented and shall invite them to express in writing their vote or abstention within a period of three months from the date of the communication. If, at the expiration of this period, the number of countries having thus expressed their vote or abstention attains the number of countries which was lacking for attaining the quorum in the session itself, such decisions shall take effect provided that at the same time the required majority still obtains.
 

(d)

 Subject to the provisions of Article 5(2), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes cast.
 

(e)

 Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
 

(f)

 A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one country only.
 

(g)

 Countries of the Special Union not members of the Assembly shall be admitted to the meetings of the latter as observers.

(4)
 

(a)

 The Assembly shall meet once in every second calendar year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptionnal circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.
 

(b)

 The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, at the request of one-fourth of the countries members of the Assembly.
 

(c)

 The agenda of each session shall be prepared by the Director General.

(5)

 The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
 

Article 3

[International Bureau]

 

(1)
 

(a)

 International deposit of industrial designs and related duties, as well as all other administrative tasks concerning the Special Union, shall be performed by the International Bureau.
 

(b)

 In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare the meetings and provide the secretariat of the Assembly and of such committees of experts and working groups as may have been established by the Assembly.
 

(c)

 The Director General shall be the chief executive of the Special Union and shall represent the Special Union.

(2)

 The Director General and any staff member designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Assembly and of such committees of experts or working groups as may have been established by the Assembly. The Director General, or a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of those bodies.

(3)
 

(a)

 The International Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of the Assembly, make the preparations for the conferences of revision of the provisions of the Agreement.
 

(b)

 The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations concerning preparations for conferences of revision.
 

(c)

 The Director General and persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, in the discussions at those conferences.

(4)

 The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to it.
 

Article 4

[Finances]

 

(1)
 

(a)

 The Special Union shall have a budget.
 

(b)

 The budget of the Special Union shall include the income and expenses proper to the Special Union, its contribution to the budget of expenses common to the Unions, and, where applicable, the sum made available to the budget of the Conference of the Organization.
 

(c)

 Expenses not attributable exclusively to the Special Union but also to one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be deemed to be expenses common to the Unions. The share of the Special Union in such common expenses shall be in proportion to the interest the Special Union has in them.

(2)

 The budget of the Special Union shall be established with due regard to the requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions administered by the Organization.

(3)

 The budget of the Special Union shall be financed from the following sources:
 
 

(i)
  international deposit fees and other fees and charges due for other services rendered by the International Bureau in relation to the Special Union;
 
 

(ii)
  sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International Bureau concerning the Special Union;
 
 

(iii)
  gifts, bequests, and subventions;
 
 

(iv)
  rents, interests, and other miscellaneous income.

(4)
 

(a)

 The amounts of the fees referred to in paragraph (3)(i) shall be fixed by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General.
 

(b)

 The amounts of such fees shall be so fixed that the revenues of the Special Union from fees and other sources shall be at least sufficient to cover the expenses of the International Bureau concerning the Special Union.
 

(c)

 If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial period, it shall be at the same level as the budget of the previous year, as provided in the financial regulations.

(5)

 Subject to the provisions of paragraph (4)(a), the amount of the fees and charges due for other services rendered by the International Bureau in relation to the Special Union shall be established, and shall be reported to the Assembly, by the Director General.

(6)
 

(a)

 The Special Union shall have a working capital fund which shall be constituted by the excess receipts and, if such excess does not suffice, by a single payment made by each country of the Special Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly shall decide to increase it.
 

(b)

 The amount of the initial payment of each country to the said fund or of its participation in the increase thereof shall be a proportion of the contribution of that country as a member of the Paris Union for the Protection of Industrial Property to the budget of the said Union for the year in which the fund is established or the decision to increase it is made.
 

(c)

 The proportion and the terms of payment shall be fixed by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General and after it has heard the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(7)
 

(a)

 In the headquarters agreement concluded with the country on the territory of which the Organization has its headquarters, it shall be provided that, whenever the working capital fund is insufficient, such country shall grant advances. The amount of those advances and the conditions on which they are granted shall be the subject of separate agreements, in each case, between such country and the Organization.
 

(b)

 The country referred to in subparagraph (a) and the Organization shall each have the right to denounce the obligation to grant advances, by written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which it has been notified.

(8)

 The auditing of the accounts shall be effected by one or more of the countries of the Special Union or by external auditors, as provided in the financial regulations. They shall be designated, with their agreement, by the Assembly.
 
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