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New Diplomatic Conference at WIPO

Geneva, October 7, 1998
Press Updates UPD/1998/36

1. Why a new Diplomatic Conference?

The Member States of WIPO decided at a meeting held at WIPO headquarters on October 5 and 6 that a Diplomatic Conference would be held from June 16 to July 6, 1999, at the International Conference Center in Geneva.

The aim of the Conference will be to negotiate and adopt a new Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs.

The Hague Agreement is one of the 21 treaties currently administered by WIPO
(15 concerning industrial property and six concerning copyright). It was signed in 1925 and has been revised on several occasions, the most recent being in 1979. A new Act has nevertheless now become necessary.

The delegations of the Member States of WIPO, the delegations of the African Intellectual Property Organization, the African Regional Industrial Property Organization and the European Community, delegations of the Member States of the United Nations that are not members of WIPO, and also representatives of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations will be invited to the forthcoming Diplomatic Conference.

2. Why Protect Industrial Designs?

An industrial design is the ornamental aspect of a useful article. This ornamental aspect may be constituted by elements which are three-dimensional (the shape of the article) or two-dimensional (lines, designs, colors).

To be eligible for protection as industrial property, designs must be original or novel and must be registered with a Government office (usually the same office as that which grants patents) or internationally with WIPO. Protection guarantees that no one may manufacture, sell or import for commercial purposes articles that bear or incorporate a design which is a copy or an imitation of a protected design without the authorization of the owner of that protected design. Protection is given for a limited period of time (generally from 10 to 15 years). However, in some countries, certain categories of industrial design are also protected as works of art (enjoying protection under copyright).

More than 6,200 deposits, renewals or prolongations of international designs were made in 1997. Considering that the instruments which govern the international registration of industrial designs render useful service to industrial and commercial enterprises, the growth prospects for those instruments over the forthcoming years are quite brilliant.

3. States party to the Hague Agreement

Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Senegal, Slovenia, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tunisia, Yugoslavia (total: 29 States).

The Hague Agreement simplifies the procedure and reduces costs for depositors by enabling them to avoid having to make a deposit or an application in each of the countries in which they wish to obtain protection. A single registration or international deposit has effect in several or all of the States listed above.

For more detailed information, please contact the Media Relations and Public Information Section of WIPO:

Tel.: (+41 22) 338 98 24 or 338 95 47
Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10
E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int


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