WIPO reports about the accession of Mexico to the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
As it is known, this Agreement allows one industrial design to be registered in different Member States based on one application and one fee.
The Agreement will come into force for Mexico on 06.06.2020.
WIPO reports about the accession of Singapore to the Locarno Agreement for international classification of industrial designs for the purposes of their registration before the Patent Offices.
The agreement will come into force for the country on 19.03.2020.
WIPO reports about the accession of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Lissabon Agreement for international registration of geographical indications.
As it is known, based on this Agreement every owner of such geographical indication can apply for its protection if different Member States using one application. This is turn saves time and money.
For more information here.
WIPO announced the ratification of the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks by Finland. The Treaty will come into force for the country on 07.08.2019.
For more information here.
WIPO reports for the accession of Canada to three important agreements for international protection of trademarks – the Madrid Protocol, Nice Agreement and the Singapore Treaty.
This by itself is a big relief and good news for every trademark applicant, especially an international one because until now Canada has been the last country, member of G8, which didn’t sign these agreements that facilitate significantly the process of trademark protection around the world.
All above-mentioned agreements will enter into force for the country on 17.06.2019, a date after which it will be possible for Canada to be designated in applications for international trademarks.
WIPO reports about the accession of Albania to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, which will come into force for the country on 08.05.2019. This will allow Albania to be designated in applications for such appellations after that date.
For more information here.
WIPR reports about a general agreement between the UK and the EU regarding the protection of intellectual property rights after the Brexit transition period which is due to end on December 31, 2020.
According to the published draft of this agreement rights over European trademarks, Community designs, plant variety, and databases will be still valid on the UK territory even after the end of the transition period.
This news is of an utmost importance for all IPRs owners which have been in deep uncertainty until that moment what would happen with their intellectual property after Brexit.
Regardless of this progress, however, many experts still rise different additional questions which aim is to reveal the whole picture. For example, there is no clarity whether some fees will have to be paid for this ongoing protection, or what will happen with geographical indications, which are not part of the agreement, or whether UK attorneys will be able to represent clients before the EUIPO and so on.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PLANET 