On June 18, 2009, the German Bundestag passed two legislative acts pertaining to international design protection. These laws are intended to modernize design law (specifically, industrial design law) at an international level and establish the prerequisites for the ratification of the Geneva Act. The Geneva Act itself updates the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
The Hague Agreement enables the acquisition of industrial design protection in one or more member states through a single application filed with WIPO. Germany has already ratified the 1925 Hague Agreement, as well as the 1934 and 1960 London and Hague Acts, which revised and remain in force alongside the original Hague Agreement. The Geneva Act introduces a further revision. Through the application process, it is now possible to designate not only individual countries but also specific international organizations to which the protection should extend. Consequently, by designating the European Community, which has already acceded to the Geneva Act, protection can be secured across all member states.
The Industrial Design Act will be augmented with a new section that governs the protection of industrial designs under all three versions of the Hague Agreement. Previously, neither the Industrial Design Act nor any other legislation contained specific provisions on this subject. The new section primarily outlines the procedures for filing international registrations and specifies the legal effects of such registrations. It also addresses the declaration of refusal of protection and the possibility of withdrawing protection. Notably, applicants will now, for the first time, be able to file an application under the Hague Agreement through the German Patent and Trademark Office, which simplifies the process for them, as direct application to WIPO in Geneva was previously the sole option. Additionally, these new regulations will adjust the provisions concerning the Federal Ministry of Justice's authorization to issue legal ordinances and will accordingly amend the Patent Cost Act for instances where an international application is forwarded by the German Patent and Trademark Office.
Source: Press release of the Federal Ministry of Justice of June 18, 2009
Goldberg Rechtsanwälte
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Attorney for Information Technology Law
Email: m.ullrich@goldberg.de
