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RS 0.232.121.4 The Geneva Act of July 2, 1999, of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs

Original Language Title: RS 0.232.121.4 Acte de Genève du 2 juillet 1999 de l’Arrangement de La Haye concernant l’enregistrement international des dessins et modèles industriels

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0.232.121.4

Original text

Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs

Geneva, July 2, 1999

Approved by the Federal Assembly on June 11, 2001 1

Instrument of ratification deposited by Switzerland on 11 September 2002

Entered into force for Switzerland on 23 December 2003

(State on 7 April 2014)

Preliminary provisions

Art. 1 Abbreviated Expressions

For the purposes of this Act,

(i)
"Hague Agreement", the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs 1 , now entitled The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs;
(ii)
"This Act" means the Hague Agreement as established by this Act;
(iii)
"Regulations" means the Regulations under this Act;
(iv)
"Prescribed" and "requirements", respectively, prescribed by the Regulations and requirements of the Regulations;
(v)
"Paris Convention", the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 2 , signed in Paris on 20 March 1883, as revised and amended;
(vi)
"International registration" means the international registration of an industrial design made under this Act;
(vii)
"International application" means an application for international registration;
(viii)
"International Register" means the official collection, maintained by the International Bureau, of the data concerning international registrations whose registration is required or authorized by this Act or the Regulations, whichever is the The media on which this data is stored.
(ix)
"Person", a natural person or a legal person;
X)
"Applicant" means the person on whose behalf an international application is filed;
(xi)
"Holder" means the person on whose behalf an international registration is recorded in the International Register;
(xii)
"Intergovernmental organization" means an intergovernmental organization which complies with the requirements of Art. 27.1) (ii) to become party to this Act;
(xiii)
"Contracting Party" means a State or an intergovernmental organization party to this Act;
(xiv)
"Applicant's Contracting Party" means the Contracting Party or one of the Contracting Parties whose applicant derives its right to file an international application for the fact that it meets, in respect of that Contracting Party, at least one of the conditions Set out in s. 3; where the applicant may, by virtue of s. 3, to derive its right to file an international application from several Contracting Parties, it must be understood by "Contracting Party of the applicant" which, among those Contracting Parties, is indicated as such in the international application;
(xv)
"Territory of a Contracting Party", where the Contracting Party is a State, the territory of that State and, where the Contracting Party is an intergovernmental organization, the territory on which the constituent treaty of that Contracting Party applies Intergovernmental organization;
(xvi)
"Office" means the body entrusted by a Contracting Party to grant protection to industrial designs in the territory of that Contracting Party;
(xvii)
"Examining Office" means an Office which, ex officio, examines applications for the protection of industrial designs filed with it in order to determine, at least, whether such designs satisfy the novelty requirement;
(xviii) "designation" means an application for an international registration to have effect in a Contracting Party; that term also applies to the recordal in the International Register of that application;
Xix)
"Designated Contracting Party" and "designated Office", respectively, the Contracting Party and the Office of the Contracting Party to which a designation applies;
(xx)
"1934 Act", the Act signed in London on June 2, 1934 3 The Hague Agreement;
(xxi)
"1960 Act", the Act signed at The Hague on November 28, 1960 4 The Hague Agreement;
(xxii)
"Additional Act of 1961", the Act signed in Monaco on November 18, 1961 5 , additional to the 1934 Act;
(xxiii) "Complementary Act of 1967", the Complementary Act signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967 6 As amended, of the Hague Agreement;
(xxiv) "Union" means the Hague Union established by the Hague Agreement of 6 November 1925 7 And maintained by the 1934 and 1960 Acts, the Additional Act of 1961, the Complementary Act of 1967 and this Act;
(xxv)
"Assembly" means the Assembly referred to in Art. 21.1) (a) or any body replacing that Assembly;
(xxvi) "Organization" means the World Intellectual Property Organization;
(xxvii) "Director General", the Director-General of the Organization;
(xxviii) "International Bureau" means the International Bureau of the Organization;
(xxix) "instrument of ratification", also instruments of acceptance or approval.

1 RS 0.232.121.2
2 RS 0.232.04
3 [RS 11 988, RO 1971 270, 1975 1598, 1984 886, 1987 587, 2004 3885, 2009 3635. RO 2010 403].
4 RS 0.232.121.2
5 [RO 1962 1613, 1975 1598, 1977 225, 1979 157. RO 2010 405).
6 RS 0.232.121.12
7 RS 0.232.01

Art. 2 Other Protection Under the Laws of Contracting Parties and Certain International Treaties

1) [ Laws of Contracting Parties and certain international treaties ] The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the application of any broader protection that may be granted by the law of a Contracting Party and shall in no way affect the protection accorded to artistic works and Works of art applied by international treaties and conventions on copyright and protection granted to industrial designs under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 1 Annexed to the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization.

(2) [ Obligation to comply with the Paris Convention ] Each Contracting Party shall comply with the provisions of the Paris Convention concerning industrial designs.


1 RS 0.632.20 Annex 1C

Chapter I International Application and International Registration

Art. 3 Entitlement to File an International Application

Is entitled to file an international application any national of a State which is a Contracting Party or a Member State of an intergovernmental organization which is a Contracting Party, or any person having his domicile, his residence Regular or effective industrial or commercial establishment in the territory of a Contracting Party.

Art. 4 Procedure for the Filing of the International Application

1) [ Direct or indirect deposit ]

(a)
The international application may be filed, at the choice of the applicant, either directly with the International Bureau or through the Office of the applicant's Contracting Party.
(b)
Notwithstanding subpara. (a), any Contracting Party may, in a declaration, notify the Director General that it cannot be filed for international applications through its Office.

(2) [ Transmittal fee in case of indirect deposit ] The Office of any Contracting Party may require that the applicant pay, for its own account, a transmittal fee for any international application filed by its intermediary.

Art. 5 Contents of the International Application

1) [ Mandatory Contents of the International Application ] The international application shall be in the prescribed language or one of the prescribed languages; must be included or attached to it

(i)
A request for international registration under this Act;
(ii)
The prescribed data concerning the applicant;
(iii)
The prescribed number of copies of a reproduction or, at the option of the applicant, of several different reproductions of the industrial design which is the subject of the international application, submitted in the prescribed manner; however, where it Is an industrial design (two-dimensional) and a request for deferment of publication is made under para. (5) the international application may be accompanied by the prescribed number of specimens of the design instead of containing reproductions;
(iv)
An indication of the product (s) which constitute the industrial design or in relation to which the design is to be used in the prescribed manner;
(v)
An indication of the designated Contracting Parties;
(vi)
Prescribed fees;
(vii)
Any other prescribed indications.

(2) [ Mandatory Additional Content of the International Application ]

(a)
Any Contracting Party whose Office is an Examining Office and whose legislation, at the time when it becomes party to this Act, requires that an application for the protection of an industrial design contain one or more of the Elements specified in subpara. (b) for the assignment, under that legislation, of a filing date to that application may notify those elements to the Director General in a declaration.
(b)
The elements which may be notified under subpara. (a) are as follows:
(i)
Indications concerning the identity of the creator of the industrial design that is the subject of the application;
(ii)
A brief description of the reproduction or characteristic features of the industrial design that is the subject of the application;
(iii)
A claim.
(c)
Where the international application contains the designation of a Contracting Party that has made a notification under subpara. (a), it shall also contain, in the prescribed manner, any item that has been the subject of that notification.

(3) [ Other Possible Contents of the International Application ] The international application may contain or be accompanied by all other elements specified in the Regulations.

4) [ Several industrial designs in the same international application ] Subject to the prescribed conditions, an international application may contain several industrial designs.

5) [ Request for deferment of publication ] The international application may contain a request for deferment of publication.

Art. 6 Priority

1) [Claiming Priority]

(a)
The international application may contain a declaration claiming under Art. 4 of the Paris Convention, the priority of one or more earlier applications filed in a country party to that Convention or for such a country, or in a member of the World Trade Organization or for such a member.
(b)
The Regulations may provide that the declaration referred to in subpara. (a) may be made after the filing of the international application. In such case, the Regulations shall prescribe when, at the latest, that declaration may be made.

(2) [ International application as a basis for a priority claim ] From the date of filing, the international application shall have the value of a regular deposit within the meaning of Art. 4 of the Paris Convention, regardless of its subsequent fate.

Art. 7 Designation Fees

1) [ Prescribed Designation Fee ] The prescribed fees include, subject to para. (2) a designation fee for each designated Contracting Party.

(2) [ Individual Designation Fee ] Any Contracting Party whose Office is an Examining Office and any Contracting Party which is an intergovernmental organization may, in a declaration, notify the Director General that, in respect of any international application in It is designated, and for the renewal of any international registration resulting from such an international application, the prescribed designation fee referred to in para. 1) is replaced by an individual designation fee, the amount of which is indicated in the declaration and may be amended in subsequent declarations. This amount may be fixed by the said Contracting Party for the initial period of protection and for each renewal period or for the maximum period of protection authorized by that Contracting Party. However, it may not exceed the amount equivalent to that which the Office of the said Contracting Party would have the right to receive from the applicant for protection granted, for an equivalent period, to the same number of designs The amount in question is reduced by the amount of savings resulting from the international procedure.

(3) [ Transfer of designation fees ] The designation fees referred to in paras. (1) and (2) are transferred by the International Bureau to the Contracting Parties in respect of which they have been paid.

Art. 8 Regularization

1) [ Examination of the international application ] If the International Bureau finds that the international application does not, at the time of receipt by the International Bureau, comply with the requirements of this Act and the Regulations, it shall invite the applicant to regularize it within the time limit Prescribed.

(2) [ Unregularization Failure ]

(a)
If the applicant does not comply with the invitation within the prescribed time limit, the international application shall, subject to subpara. (b) deemed abandoned.
(b)
In the case of an irregularity concerning s. (5.2) or a special requirement notified to the Director General by a Contracting Party in accordance with the Regulations, if the applicant does not comply with the invitation within the prescribed time limit, the international application shall be deemed not to Contain the designation of that Contracting Party.
Art. Filing Date of the International Application

1) [ International application filed directly ] Where the international application is filed directly with the International Bureau, the filing date shall be, subject to para. (3) the date on which the International Bureau receives the international application.

(2) [ Indirectly filed international application ] Where the international application is filed through the Office of the applicant's Contracting Party, the filing date shall be determined in the prescribed manner.

(3) [ International application involving certain irregularities ] Where, on the date on which it is received by the International Bureau, the international application contains an irregularity which is prescribed as an irregularity entailing the postponement of the filing date of the international application, the date of Filing shall be the date on which the correction of that irregularity is received by the International Bureau.

Art. 10 International Registration, Date of the International Registration, Publication and Confidential Copies of the International Registration

1) [ International Registration ] The International Bureau shall register each industrial design which is the subject of the international application as soon as it receives it or, where the applicant is invited to regularize the application under Art. 8, upon receipt of the elements necessary for the regularization. Registration is effected, whether or not the publication is deferred pursuant to s. 11.

(2) [ Date of the International Registration ]

(a)
Subject to subpara. (b) the date of the international registration is the filing date of the international application.
(b)
Where, on the date on which it is received by the International Bureau, the international application contains an irregularity in respect of s. (5.2), the date of the international registration is the date on which the correction of that irregularity is received by the International Bureau or, if the filing date of the international application is later than that date, the date of filing of the international application. International application.

(3) [ Publishing ]

(a)
The international registration shall be published by the International Bureau. Such publication shall be considered in all Contracting Parties as sufficient publicity, and no further publicity may be required from the holder.
(b)
The International Bureau shall send a copy of the publication of the international registration to each designated Office.

4) [ Maintenance of secrecy prior to publication ] Subject to para. 5) and art. (b), the International Bureau shall keep secret each international application and each international registration until publication.

5) [ Confidential Copies ]

(a)
Immediately after the registration has been effected, the International Bureau shall send a copy of the international registration, together with any relevant declaration, document or specimen accompanying the international application, to each Office which has notified it of its wish to receive such a copy and has been designated in the international application.
(b)
Until the publication of the international registration by the International Bureau, the Office keeps secret any international registration of which a copy has been sent to it by the International Bureau and may use that copy only for the purposes of Examination of the international registration and applications for the protection of industrial designs filed in the Contracting Party for which it is competent or for that Contracting Party. In particular, it may not disclose the contents of such an international registration to any person outside its services other than the holder of that international registration, except for the purposes of administrative or judicial proceedings Concerning a conflict relating to the right to file the international application on which the international registration is based. In the case of such an administrative or judicial procedure, the contents of the international registration may only be disclosed in confidence to the parties involved in the proceedings, who are bound to respect the Confidentiality of the disclosure.
Art. 11 Adjournment of publication

1) [Legislative provisions of Contracting Parties relating to deferment of publication]

(a)
Where the law of a Contracting Party provides for deferment of publication of an industrial design for a period less than the prescribed period, that Contracting Party shall notify the Director General, in a declaration, The period of deferment allowed.
(b)
Where the law of a Contracting Party does not provide for deferment of publication of an industrial design, that Contracting Party shall notify the Director General accordingly in a declaration.

(2) [ Adjournment of publication ] Where the international application contains a request for deferment of publication, the publication shall take place,

(i)
If none of the Contracting Parties designated in the international application has made a declaration under para. (1) at the expiration of the prescribed period or,
(ii)
If any of the Contracting Parties designated in the international application made a declaration under para. (1) (a), at the expiration of the period that is notified in that declaration or, if several designated Contracting Parties have made such declarations, at the expiration of the shortest period that is notified in their declarations.

(3) [ Processing of requests for adjournment where adjournment is not possible under applicable legislation ] Where deferment of publication has been requested and one of the Contracting Parties designated in the international application has made, pursuant to para. (1) (b) a statement that deferment of publication is not possible under its law,

(i)
Subject to item (ii), the International Bureau shall notify the applicant accordingly; if, within the prescribed time limit, the applicant does not notify, in writing, the International Bureau of the withdrawal of the designation of that Contracting Party, the International Bureau shall not Takes no account of the request for deferment of publication;
(ii)
If, instead of containing reproductions of the industrial design, the international application was accompanied by specimens of the industrial design, the International Bureau does not take into account the designation of that Contracting Party And notify the applicant accordingly.

4) [Request for Advance Publication of the International Registration or the Ator I Special access to it]

(a)
During the period of deferment applicable under para. (2) the holder may, at any time, request the publication of one, several or all of the industrial designs which are the subject of the international registration; in such case, the period of deferment for such drawings or Industrial designs shall be deemed to have expired on the date of receipt of that request by the International Bureau.
(b)
During the period of deferment applicable under para. (2) the holder may also, at any time, request the International Bureau to furnish to a third party that he has designated an extract of one, several or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration, or To grant to that third party access to that industrial design or designs.

5) [ Waiver and limitation ]

(a)
If, at any time during the period of deferment applicable under para. (2), the holder renounces the international registration in respect of all the designated Contracting Parties, the industrial design or designs that are the subject of the international registration are not published.
(b)
If, at any time during the period of deferment applicable under para. (2), the holder limits the international registration, in respect of all the designated Contracting Parties, to one or more of the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration, the other design or designs Industrial goods subject to the international registration are not published.

6) [ Publication and provision of reproductions ]

(a)
At the expiration of any period of deferment applicable under the provisions of this Article, the International Bureau shall publish the international registration subject to the payment of the prescribed fees. If these fees are not paid in the prescribed manner, the international registration is cancelled and the publication is not made.
(b)
Where the international application was accompanied by one or more specimens of the industrial design pursuant to Art. (5.1) (iii), the holder shall, within the prescribed time limit, furnish to the International Bureau the prescribed number of copies of a reproduction of each industrial design that is the subject of that application. To the extent that the holder does not do so, the international registration is cancelled and the publication is not made.
Art. 12 Refuse

1) [ Right to Refuse ] The Office of a designated Contracting Party may, where the conditions under which the law of that Contracting Party orders protection, are not met in respect of one, several or all of the designs Refusal, partly or wholly, of the effects of the international registration in the territory of the said Contracting Party; however, no Office may refuse, in part, or The effects of an international registration on the ground that the application In respect of its form or contents, in accordance with the law of the Contracting Party concerned, to requirements which are set out in this Act or the Regulations or to requirements that are added thereto or They differ.

(2) [ Deny Notification ]

(a)
The refusal of the effects of an international registration shall be communicated within the time limit prescribed by the Office to the International Bureau in a notification of refusal.
(b)
Any notification of refusal shall indicate all the grounds on which the refusal is based.

(3) [ Transmission of the notification of refusal; means of redress ]

(a)
The International Bureau shall, without delay, transmit to the holder a copy of the notification of refusal.
(b)
The holder has the same remedies as if an industrial design which is the subject of the international registration had been the subject of an application for protection under the law applicable to the Office which communicated the Refusal. Such remedies shall include at least the possibility of a review or review of the refusal or an appeal against the refusal.

4) [ Withdrawal of Refusal ] Any refusal may be withdrawn, in part or in whole, at all times by the Office which has communicated it.

Art. 13 Special requirements for the design unit

1) [ Notification of Special Requirements ] Any Contracting Party whose legislation, at the time when it becomes a party to this Act, requires that the designs that are the subject of the same application comply with a rule of unity of design, unit of production or unity Use or belong to the same set of articles or to the same composition of articles, or that a single independent design may be claimed in the same application, may notify this requirement to the Director General in a Statement. However, such a declaration does not affect the applicant's right of an international application, even if it designates the Contracting Party that made that declaration, to include several industrial designs in that application Pursuant to s. 5.4).

(2) [ Effect of the declaration ] This declaration allows the Office of the Contracting Party which has made it to refuse the effects of the international registration in accordance with Art. 12.1) until such time as the requirement notified by that Contracting Party is met.

(3) [ Additional fees due in case of division of a registration ] If, following a notification of refusal under para. (2), an international registration is divided with the Office concerned to remedy a ground of refusal indicated in the notification, that Office has the right to collect a fee for each additional international application that would have been Necessary to avoid this ground of refusal.

Art. 14 Effects of the International Registration

1) [ Effects identical to those of an application under the applicable law ] From the date of the international registration, the international registration produced in each designated Contracting Party at least the same effects as a regularly filed application for the purpose of obtaining protection for the design, or Industrial model under the legislation of that Contracting Party.

(2) [ Effects identical to those of the grant of protection under the law appl I Cable ]

(a)
In each designated Contracting Party whose Office has not communicated a refusal in accordance with Art. 12, the international registration shall have the same effect as the grant of the protection of the industrial design under the law of that Contracting Party, not later than the date of expiration of the period during which it May disclose a refusal or, where a Contracting Party has made a declaration in that regard under the Regulations, no later than the time specified in that declaration.
(b)
Where the Office of a designated Contracting Party has communicated a refusal and subsequently withdrew that refusal, in part or in whole, the international registration produced in that Contracting Party, to the extent that the refusal is withdrawn, the The same effect as the grant of protection of the industrial design under the law of that Contracting Party, not later than the date on which the refusal was withdrawn.
(c)
The effects conferred on the international registration under this paragraph shall apply to the industrial designs which are the subject of that registration as received by the International Bureau by the designated Office or, As amended during the procedure before that Office.

(3) [ Declaration concerning the Effect of the Designation of the Applicant's Contracting Party ]

(a)
Any Contracting Party whose Office is an Examining Office may, in a declaration, notify the Director General that, in the case where that Contracting Party is the applicant, the designation of that Contracting Party in a International registration has no effect.
(b)
Where a Contracting Party that has made the declaration referred to in subpara. (a) is indicated in an international application as being both the applicant's Contracting Party and a designated Contracting Party, the International Bureau does not take into account the designation of that Contracting Party.
Art. 15 Invalidation

1) [ Possibility for the holder to assert his rights ] Partial or total invalidation, by the competent authorities of a designated Contracting Party, of the effects of the international registration in the territory of that Contracting Party may not be pronounced without the holder having been Able to enforce its rights in a timely manner.

(2) [ Invalidation Notification ] The Office of the Contracting Party in whose territory the effects of the international registration have been invalidated shall notify the International Bureau of the invalidation, where it becomes aware of it.

Art. 16 Recording of Amendments and Other Registrations Concerning International Registrations

1) [ Recording of Amendments and Other Registrations ] The International Bureau shall record in the International Register in the prescribed manner,

(i)
Any change in ownership of the international registration in respect of one, several or all of the designated Contracting Parties and in respect of one, several or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of International registration, provided that the new owner has the right to file an international application under Art. 3,
(ii)
Any change in the name or address of the holder,
(iii)
The appointment of an agent of the applicant or holder and any other relevant data concerning that representative,
(iv)
Any renunciation by the holder of the international registration in respect of one, several or all of the designated Contracting Parties,
(v)
Any limitation of the international registration to one or more of the industrial designs which are the object thereof, made by the holder in respect of one, several or all of the designated Contracting Parties,
(vi)
Any invalidation by the competent authorities of a designated Contracting Party, in the territory of that Contracting Party, of the effects of the international registration in respect of one, more or all of the designs Industrialists that are the subject of this registration,
(vii)
Any other relevant data, as indicated in the Regulations, concerning the rights in one, several or all of the industrial designs subject to the international registration.

(2) [ Effects of the International Register ] Any entry referred to in items (i), (ii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (vii) of para. (1) produces the same effect as if it had been made in the register of the Office of each of the Contracting Parties concerned, except that a Contracting Party may, in a declaration, notify the Director General that a registration referred to in the Item (i) of para. (1) does not produce such effects in that Contracting Party as long as the Office of that Contracting Party has not received the declarations or documents specified in the said declaration.

(3) [ Taxes ] Any entry made under para. 1) may give rise to the payment of a fee.

4) [ Publishing ] The International Bureau shall publish an opinion concerning any registration made under para. 1). It shall send a copy of the publication of the notice to the Office of each of the Contracting Parties concerned.

Art. 17 Initial Period and Renewal of the International Registration and Duration of Protection

1) [ Initial Period of the International Registration ] The international registration shall be effected for an initial period of five years from the date of the international registration.

(2) [ Renewal of the International Registration ] The international registration may be renewed for additional periods of five years, in accordance with the prescribed procedure and subject to the payment of the prescribed fees.

(3) [ Term of Protection in Designated Contracting Parties ]

(a)
Provided that the international registration is renewed and subject to subpara. (b) the term of protection in each designated Contracting Party shall be 15 years from the date of the international registration.
(b)
Where the legislation of a designated Contracting Party provides for a term of protection of more than 15 years for an industrial design to which protection has been granted under that legislation, the term of protection shall be, subject to That the international registration be renewed, the same as that provided for in the law of that Contracting Party.
(c)
Each Contracting Party shall notify the Director General, in a declaration, of the maximum period of protection provided for in its legislation.

4) [ Possibility of limited renewal ] The renewal of the international registration may be effected for one, several or all of the designated Contracting Parties and for one, several or all of the industrial designs that are the subject of registration International.

5) [ Registration and Publication of Renewal ] The International Bureau shall record the renewals in the International Register and publish an opinion on them. It shall send a copy of the publication of the notice to the Office of each of the Contracting Parties concerned.

Art. 18 Information Concerning Published International Registrations

1) [ Access to Information ] The International Bureau shall provide to any person who so requests, subject to payment of the prescribed fee, extracts from the International Register, or information on the contents of the International Register, in respect of everything Published international registration.

(2) [ Legalization Dispensation ] Extracts from the International Register furnished by the International Bureau shall be exempt from any requirement of legalization in each Contracting Party.

Chapter II Administrative provisions

Art. 19 Multiple States Common Office

1) [ Notification of a Common Office ] If several States intending to become party to this Act have achieved, or if several States party to this Act agree to carry out, the unification of their national laws on industrial designs, they may Notify the Director General

(i)
A common Office shall replace the national Office of each of them, and
(ii)
That the whole of their respective territories to which the unified law applies shall be considered as a single Contracting Party for the application of art. 1, 3 to 18 and 31 of this Act.

(2) [ When the notification is to be made ] The notification referred to in para. 1) is made,

(i)
In the case of States intending to become party to this Act, at the time of deposit of the instruments referred to in Art. 27.2);
(ii)
In the case of States Parties to this Act, at any time after the unification of their national laws.

(3) [ Notification Effective Date The notification referred to in paras. 1) and 2) take effect,

(i)
As regards States intending to become party to this Act, at the time when those States become bound by this Act;
(ii)
As regards States party to this Act, three months after the date of the communication which is made by the Director General to the other Contracting Parties or at any later date indicated in the notification.
Art. Membership of the Hague Union

Contracting Parties are members of the same Union as the States party to the 1934 Act or the 1960 Act.

Art. Assembly

1) [ Composition ]

(a)
Contracting Parties are members of the same Assembly as States bound by Art. 2 of the Complementary Act of 1967.
(b)
Each member of the Assembly shall be represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors and experts, and each delegate may represent only one Contracting Party.
(c)
Members of the Union who are not members of the Assembly shall be admitted to meetings of the Assembly as observers.

(2) [ Functions ]

(a)
The Assembly
(i)
Deals with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Union and the application of this Act;
(ii)
Exercise the rights specially conferred upon it and carry out the tasks specially assigned to it under this Act or the Complementary Act of 1967;
(iii)
Gives guidance to the Director General on the preparation of revision conferences and decides on the convening of such conferences;
(iv)
Amend the Regulations;
(v)
Review and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General relating to the Union and give him all relevant instructions concerning matters within the competence of the Union;
(vi)
Adopts the programme, adopts the biennial budget of the Union and approves its closing accounts;
(vii)
Adopts the financial regulation of the Union;
(viii)
Establish the committees and working groups it considers relevant in order to achieve the objectives of the Union;
(ix)
Subject to para. (1) (c), decide which States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations shall be admitted to its meetings as observers;
X)
Undertakes any other appropriate action with a view to achieving the objectives of the Union and performs all other relevant functions in the context of this Act.
(b)
On matters of interest to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall act upon the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

(3) [ Quorum ]

(a)
One half of the members of the Assembly who are States and who have the right to vote on a particular question shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of voting on this question.
(b)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subpara. (a) if, at a session, the number of members of the Assembly who are States, who have the right to vote on a particular question and who are represented is less than half but equal or more than one-third of the members of the Assembly who are Of States and have the right to vote on this question, the Assembly may take decisions; however, the decisions of the Assembly, with the exception of those concerning its procedure, shall become binding only where the conditions set out in the Are completed. The International Bureau shall communicate the said decisions to those members of the Assembly who are States, who have the right to vote on the said question and who were not represented, by inviting them to express in writing, within three months to From the date of the communication, their vote or abstention. If, at the end of that period, the number of such members having thus expressed their vote or abstention is at least equal to the number of members that was not present for the quorum to be reached at the session, such decisions shall become Enforceable, provided that, at the same time, the necessary majority remains.

4) [ Decision-making in the Assembly ]

(a)
The Assembly shall endeavour to make its decisions by consensus.
(b)
Where it is not possible to reach a decision by consensus, the decision on the matter shall be put to the vote. In this case,
(i)
Each Contracting Party which is a State shall have one vote and shall vote only in its own name, and
(ii)
Any Contracting Party which is an intergovernmental organization may participate in the vote in place of its member States, with a number of votes equal to the number of its member States which are party to this Act; no organization Shall not participate in the vote if one of its Member States exercises its right to vote, and vice versa.
(c)
On matters which concern only States bound by s. 2 of the Complementary Act of 1967, Contracting Parties which are not bound by that Article shall not have the right to vote, whereas, on matters which concern only Contracting Parties, only those Contracting Parties shall have the right to vote.

5) [ Majorities ]

(a)
Subject to Art. 24.2) and 26.2), the decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.
(b)
Abstentions shall not be considered as a vote.

6) [ Sessions ]

(a)
The Assembly shall meet once every two years in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the same places as the General Assembly of the Organization.
(b)
The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, the Director General acting either at the request of a quarter of the members of the Assembly or on his own initiative.
(c)
The agenda of each session shall be established by the Director General.

7) [ Rules of procedure ] The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.

Art. International Bureau

1) [ Administrative functions ]

(a)
International registration and related tasks as well as other administrative tasks concerning the Union shall be provided by the International Bureau.
(b)
In particular, the International Bureau prepares the meetings and provides the secretariat of the Assembly and the committees of experts and working groups it may create.

(2) [ Director General ] The Director-General shall be the highest official of the Union and shall represent it.

(3) [ Meetings other than sessions of the Assembly ] The Director General shall convene any committee or working group established by the Assembly and any other meeting dealing with matters of interest to the Union.

4) [ Role of the International Bureau in the Assembly and other meetings ]

(a)
The Director General and the persons designated by the Director General shall take part, without the right to vote, at all meetings of the Assembly and of the committees and working groups established by the Assembly and at any other meeting convened by the Assembly Director-General under the auspices of the Union.
(b)
The Director General or a staff member designated by the Director General shall be ex officio secretary of the Assembly and of the committees, working groups and other meetings referred to in subpara. (a).

5) [ Conferences ]

(a)
The International Bureau, as directed by the Assembly, shall prepare the revision conferences.
(b)
The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental organizations and international and national non-governmental organizations on the preparation of such conferences.
(c)
The Director General and the persons designated by the Director General shall take part, without the right to vote, in the deliberations of the revision conferences.

6) [ Other functions ] The International Bureau shall carry out all other tasks assigned to it in relation to this Act.

Art. Finance

1) [ Budget ]

(a)
The Union has a budget.
(b)
The budget of the Union shall include the revenue and expenditure of the Union and its contribution to the expenditure budget common to the Unions administered by the Organization.
(c)
Expenses which are not exclusively attributable to the Union but also to one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be considered as common expenses for the Unions. The Union's share of these common expenses is proportional to the interest that these expenses show for it.

(2) [ Coordination with the budgets of other unions ] The budget of the Union shall be adopted taking into account the requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions administered by the Organization.

(3) [ Sources of Budget Financing ] The Union's budget is financed by the following resources:

(i)
Fees for international registrations;
(ii)
Amounts due for other services rendered by the International Bureau in respect of the Union;
(iii)
Proceeds from the sale of the publications of the International Bureau concerning the Union and the rights relating to those publications;
(iv)
Gifts, bequests and grants;
(v)
Rents, interest, and other miscellaneous income.

4) [ Fixing of Fees and Amounts Owing; Amount of Budget ]

(a)
The amount of the fees referred to in para. (3) (i) shall be fixed by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General. The amounts due under para. (3) (ii) shall be fixed by the Director General and shall be provisionally applicable until the Assembly decides at its next session.
(b)
The amount of the fees referred to in para. (3) (i) shall be so fixed that the Union's income from taxes and other sources of income shall at least cover all expenses of the International Bureau of interest to the Union.
(c)
In the event that the budget is not adopted before the start of a new financial year, the budget for the previous year shall be renewed in accordance with the rules laid down in the Financial Regulation.

5) [ Working Capital Fund ] The Union shall have a working capital fund consisting of surplus income and, if these surpluses are not sufficient, by a single payment made by each member of the Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly decides on its increase. The proportion and terms of payment shall be adopted by the Assembly on the proposal of the Director General.

6) [ Advances by the host State ]

(a)
The headquarters agreement concluded with the State in whose territory the Organization has its seat provides that, if the working capital fund is insufficient, that State shall grant advances. The amount of such advances and the conditions under which they are granted shall, in each case, be the subject of separate agreements between the State concerned and the Organization.
(b)
The State referred to in subpara. (a) and the Organization shall each have the right to denounce the undertaking to grant advances by written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which it was notified.

7) [ Account Verification ] Account verification shall be carried out, in accordance with the arrangements laid down in the Financial Regulation, by one or more Member States of the Union or by external auditors, who shall, with their consent, be appointed by the Assembly.

Art. 24 Regulations

1) [ Purpose ] The Regulations shall govern the manner of application of this Act. In particular, it contains provisions relating to

(i)
Questions which, under this Act, are to be prescribed;
(ii)
To points of detail intended to supplement the provisions of this Act or to any details relevant to their application;
(iii)
Any administrative requirements, questions or procedures.

(2) [ Amendment of Certain Provisions of the Regulations ]

(a)
The Regulations may specify that some of its provisions may be amended only by unanimity or only by a four-fifths majority.
(b)
In order for the requirement of unanimity or a four-fifths majority to no longer apply in the future to the amendment of a provision of the Regulations, unanimity is required.
(c)
In order for the requirement of unanimity or a four-fifths majority to apply in the future to the amendment of a provision of the Regulations, a majority of four fifths is required.

(3) [ Divergence between this Act and the Regulations ] In the event of any discrepancy between the provisions of this Act and those of the Regulations, the first shall prevail.

Chapter III Revision and Amendment

Art. 25 Revision of this Act

1) [ Review Conferences ] This Act may be revised by a Conference of the Contracting Parties.

(2) [ Revision or modification of certain articles ] Art. 21, 22, 23 and 26 may be amended either by a revision conference or by the Assembly in accordance with the provisions of Art. 26.

Art. 26 Amendment of Certain Articles by the Assembly

1) [ Amendment Proposals ]

(a)
Proposals to amend s. 21, 22, 23 and this Article by the Assembly may be presented by any Contracting Party or by the Director General.
(b)
These proposals shall be communicated by the Director General to the Contracting Parties at least six months before being submitted to the Assembly for consideration.

(2) [ Majorities ] The adoption of any amendment to the articles referred to in para. 1) requires a three-fourths majority; however, the adoption of any amendment to s. 21 or this paragraph shall require a four-fifths majority.

(3) [ Entry into force ]

(a)
Except when subpara. (b) applies, any amendment to the articles referred to in para. (1) shall enter into force one month after the Director General has received, from three-fourths of the Contracting Parties who were members of the Assembly at the time when the amendment was adopted and who were entitled to vote on that Amendment, written notifications indicating the acceptance of this amendment in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
(b)
An amendment to s. 21.3) or 4) or this subparagraph shall not enter into force if, within six months following its adoption by the Assembly, a Contracting Party notifies the Director General that it does not accept that amendment.
(c)
Any amendment which enters into force in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph shall be binding on all States and intergovernmental organizations which are Contracting Parties at the time the amendment enters into force or which is Become at a later date.

Chapter IV Final clauses

Art. 27 Conditions and terms for becoming party to this Act

1) [ Conditions to be filled ] Subject to paras. 2) and 3) and art. 28,

(i)
Any member State of the Organization may sign this Act and become party to this Act;
(ii)
Any intergovernmental organization which manages an Office with which the protection of industrial designs can be obtained with effect in the territory in which the constituent treaty of the intergovernmental organization applies may sign The present Act and become party to it, provided that at least one of the member States of the intergovernmental organization is a member of the Organization and that Office has not been notified under Art. 19.

(2) [ Ratification or Accession ] Any State or intergovernmental organization referred to in para. 1) may file

(i)
An instrument of ratification if it has signed this Act, or
(ii)
An instrument of accession if it has not signed this Act.

(3) [ Effective Date of Deposit ]

(a)
Subject to subpara. (b) to (d), the effective date of the deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession shall be the date on which that instrument is deposited.
(b)
The effective date of the deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession of any State for which the protection of industrial designs can be obtained only through the intermediary of the Office managed by an organization Member State is the date on which the instrument of that intergovernmental organization is deposited if that date is later than the date on which the instrument of that State was deposited.
(c)
The effective date of the deposit of any instrument of ratification or accession containing the notification referred to in Art. 19 or accompanied shall be the date on which the last of the instruments of the Member States of the group of States which have made the said notification is deposited.
(d)
Any instrument of ratification or accession by a State may contain a declaration, or be accompanied by a declaration, according to which it is to be considered as deposited only if the instrument of another State or an organization Or those of two other States, or those of another State and an intergovernmental organization, whose names are specified and which fulfil the necessary conditions for becoming parties to this Act, shall also be deposited. The instrument containing such a declaration or accompanied by such a declaration shall be considered to have been deposited on the day on which the condition indicated in the declaration is fulfilled. However, where an instrument indicated in the declaration itself contains a declaration of the same type or is itself accompanied by a declaration of the same type, that instrument shall be considered to be deposited on the day on which the condition indicated in that declaration The last declaration is completed.
(e)
Any declaration made under subpara. (d) may, at any time, be withdrawn, in whole or in part. The withdrawal shall take effect on the date on which the notification of withdrawal is received by the Director General.
Art. 28 Effective Date of Ratifications and Accessions

1) [ Instruments to be considered ] For the purposes of this Article, only instruments of ratification or accession which are deposited by States or intergovernmental organizations referred to in Art. 27.1) and for which the conditions of s. 27.3), governing the effective date, are met.

(2) [ Entry into Force of this Act ] This Act shall enter into force three months after six States have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession, provided that, according to the most recent annual statistics compiled by the International Bureau, at least three States meet at least one of the following conditions:

(i)
At least 3000 applications for protection of industrial designs have been filed in the State concerned or for that State, or
(ii)
At least 1000 applications for the protection of industrial designs have been filed in or for the State concerned by residents of States other than that State.

(3) [ Entry into Force of Ratifications and Accessions ]

(a)
Any State or intergovernmental organization which has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession at least three months before the entry into force of this Act shall become bound by it on the date of its entry into force.
(b)
Any other State or intergovernmental organization shall become bound by this Act three months after the date on which it deposited its instrument of ratification or accession or at any later date indicated in that instrument.
Art. Prohibition of Reservations

No reservation may be made in respect of this Act.

Art. Declarations Made by Contracting Parties

1) [ When statements can be made ] Any declaration under Art. 4.1) (b), 5.2) (a), (7.2), (11.1), (13.1), (14.3), (16.2) or 17.3) (c) may be made

(i)
At the time of deposit of an instrument referred to in s. 27.2), in which case it shall take effect on the date on which the State or intergovernmental organization having made the declaration becomes bound by this Act, or
(ii)
After the deposit of an instrument referred to in s. 27.2), in which case it shall take effect three months after the date of its receipt by the Director General or at any later date which is indicated therein, but shall apply only to international registrations whose date is the same or later than Date to which she took effect.

(2) [ Statements by States with a Common Office ] Notwithstanding para. (1), any declaration referred to in the said paragraph which has been made by a State having, at the same time as one or more other States, notified to the Director General, pursuant to Art. 19.1), the substitution of a common Office at their national offices takes effect only if that other State or those other States make a corresponding declaration.

(3) [ Withdrawal of declarations ] Any declaration referred to in para. 1) may be withdrawn at any time by notification addressed to the Director General. Such withdrawal shall take effect three months after the date of receipt of the notification by the Director General or at any later date indicated in the notification. In the case of a declaration under s. 7.2), the withdrawal shall not affect international applications filed prior to the taking of the said withdrawal.

Art. Applicability of the 1934 and the 1960 Acts

1) [ Relations between the States Parties to this Act and the 1934 Act or the 1960 Act ] Only this Act shall bind, in their mutual relations, the States party to both this Act and the 1934 Act or the 1960 Act. However, those States are obliged to apply, in their mutual relations, the provisions of the 1934 Act or those of the 1960 Act, as the case may be, to designs deposited with the International Bureau prior to the date of Which this Act binds them in their mutual relations.

(2) [ Relations between the States Parties to this Act and the 1934 Act or the 1960 Act and the States party to the 1934 Act or the 1960 Act which are not party to this Act ]

(a)
Any State party to both this Act and the 1934 Act shall be required to apply the provisions of the 1934 Act in its relations with States which are party to the 1934 Act without being party to the 1960 Act or this Act at the same time.
(b)
Any State party to both this Act and the 1960 Act shall be required to apply the provisions of the 1960 Act in its relations with States which are party to the 1960 Act without being party to this Act at the same time.
Art. 32 Denunciation of this Act

1) [ Notification ] Any Contracting Party may denounce this Act by notification addressed to the Director General.

(2) [ Effective Date ] Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which the Director General has received the notification or at any later date indicated in the notification. It shall not affect the application of this Act to international applications which are pending and to international registrations which are in force, in respect of the Contracting Party concerned, at the time of taking effect of Denunciation.

Art. 33 Languages of this Act; Signature

1) [ Original texts; official texts ]

(a)
This Act shall be signed in a single original in the English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish and Russian languages, all texts being equally authentic.
(b)
Official texts shall be drawn up by the Director General, after consultation with the governments concerned, in the other languages which the Assembly may indicate.

(2) [ Time for signature ] This Act shall remain open for signature at the headquarters of the Organization for one year after its adoption.

Art. 34 Depositary

The Director General shall be the depositary of this Act.

(Suivent signatures)

Scope of application on 7 April 2014 2

States Parties

Ratification

Accession (A)

Entry into force

Albania

19 February

2007 A

19 May

2007

Germany

13 November

2009

13 February

2010

Armenia

13 April

2007 A

July 13

2007

Azerbaijan

8 September

2010 A

8 December

2010

Bosnia and Herzegovina

24 September

2008 A

24 December

2008

Botswana

September 5

2006 A

5 December

2006

Brunei

24 September

2013 A

24 December

2013

Bulgaria

7 July

2008

7 October

2008

Croatia

12 January

2004

12 April

2004

Denmark

9 September

2008

9 December

2008

Greenland

11 October

2010

11 January

2011

Egypt

27 May

2004 A

August 27

2004

Spain *

23 September

2003

December 23

2003

Estonia

21 March

2002

December 23

2003

Finland

1 Er February

2011 A

1 Er May

2011

France

18 December

2006

18 March

2007

Overseas Departments and Territories

18 December

2006

18 March

2007

Georgia

6 May

2003

December 23

2003

Ghana

June 16

2008 A

16 September

2008

Hungary

1 Er February

2004

1 Er May

2004

Iceland

July 6

2001 A

December 23

2003

Kyrgyzstan

17 February

2003 A

December 23

2003

Latvia

April 26

2005

26 July

2005

Liechtenstein *

August 11

2003 A

December 23

2003

Lithuania

26 June

2008 A

26 September

2008

Macedonia

22 December

2005 A

22 March

2006

Moldova *

19 December

2001

December 23

2003

Monaco

March 9

2011

9 June

2011

Mongolia

19 October

2007 A

19 January

2008

Montenegro

5 December

2011 A

March 5

2012

Namibia

March 31

2004 A

30 June

2004

Norway

March 17

2010 A

17 June

2010

Oman

4 December

2008 A

March 4

2009

African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI)

June 16

2008 A

16 September

2008

Poland

2 April

2009 A

July 2

2009

Romania

11 May

2001

December 23

2003

Rwanda

May 31

2011 A

August 31

2011

Sao Tome and Principe

8 September

2008 A

8 December

2008

Serbia

9 September

2009 A

9 December

2009

Singapore

17 January

2005 A

April 17

2005

Slovenia

8 May

2002

December 23

2003

Switzerland

11 September

2002

December 23

2003

Syria

7 February

2008 A

7 May

2008

Tajikistan

21 December

2011 A

21 March

2012

Tunisia

13 March

2012 A

13 June

2012

Turkey

1 Er October

2004

1 Er January

2005

Ukraine

28 May

2002 A

December 23

2003

European Union

24 September

2007 A

1 Er January

2008

*

Reservations and declarations.

Reservations and declarations are not published in the RO. The texts in English and French can be found at the World Intellectual Property Organization's website: www.wipo.int/treaties/fr/ or obtained from the Directorate of Public International Law (DDIP), Section of the International treaties, 3003 Berne.


RO 2004 841 ; FF 2000 2587


1 RO 2004 839
2 RO 2004 865 , 2005 3565, 2007 3841, 2008 4051, 2009 3153, 2011 2969, 2014 965. A version of the updated scope of application is published on the DFAE website (www.dfae.admin.ch/traites).


Status on April 7, 2014