United States and Japan Accede to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement on February 13, 2015

The United States and Japan deposited their instruments of accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs on February 13, 2015. These countries join many other who are already part of the Hague System, including the European Union and South Korea. Acceding to the Geneva Act benefits businesses by allowing them to protect their intellectual property rights in other markets through a single industrial design application made through the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (‘WIPO’). View the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USTPO) Press Release.

Amendments to Canada’s Industrial Design Act, which were tabled in parliament on October 23, 2014 as part of Bill C-43 (the Federal government’s second budget implementation act), will also allow Canada accede to the Geneva Act. The amendments received royal assent on December 16, 2014, and will come into force at a later date once they are finalized. You can find out more information on the amendments in our December 30, 2014 blog post, “Changes to Canada's Patent Act and Industrial Design Act Receive Royal Assent”.