Article 9

If the international deposit of a design is made within six months of the first deposit of the same design in a State member of the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, and if priority is claimed for the international deposit, the priority date shall be that of the first deposit.

Article 10

(1)

 An international deposit may be renewed every five years by payment only, during the last year of each period of five years, of the renewal fees prescribed by the Regulations.

(2)

 Subject to the payment of a surcharge fixed by the Regulations, a period of grace of six months shall be granted for renewal of the international deposit.

(3)

 At the time of paying the renewal fees, the international deposit number must be indicated and also, if renewal is not to be effected for all the contracting States for which the deposit is about to expire, those of the contracting States for which the renewal is to be effected.

(4)

 Renewal may be limited to some only of the designs included in a multiple deposit.

(5)

 The International Bureau shall record and publish renewals.

Article 11
(1)

(a)

 The term of protection granted by a contracting State to designs which have been the subject of an international deposit shall not be less than:

1.

 ten years from the date of the international deposit if the deposit has been renewed;

2.

 five years from the date of the international deposit in the absence of renewal.

(b)

 However, if, under the provisions of the domestic law of a contracting State having a novelty examination, protection commences at a date later than that of the international deposit, the minimum terms provided for in subparagraph (a) shall be computed from the date at which protection commences in that State. The fact that the international deposit is not renewed or is renewed only once shall in no way affect the minimum terms of protection thus defined.

(2)

 If the domestic law of a contracting State provides, in respect of designs which have been the subject of a national deposit, for protection whose duration, with or without renewal, is longer than ten years, protection of the same duration shall, on the basis of the international deposit and its renewals, be granted in that State to designs which have been the subject of an international deposit.

(3)

 A contracting State may, under its domestic law, limit the term of protection of designs which have been the subject of an international deposit to the terms provided for in paragraph (1).

(4)

 Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1)(b), protection in a contracting State shall terminate at the date of expiration of the international deposit, unless the domestic law of that State provides that protection shall continue after the date of expiration of the international deposit.

Article 12

(1)

 The International Bureau shall record and publish changes affecting ownership of a design which is the subject of an international deposit in force. It is understood that transfer of ownership may be limited to the rights arising from the international deposit in one or a few only of the contracting States and, in the case of a multiple deposit, to some only of the designs included therein.

(2)

 The recording referred to in paragraph (1) shall have the same effect as if it had been made in the national Offices of the contracting States.

Article 13

(1)

 The owner of an international deposit may, by means of a declaration addressed to the International Bureau, renounce his rights in respect of all or some only of the contracting States and, in the case of a multiple deposit, in respect of some only of the designs included therein.

(2)

 The International Bureau shall record and publish such declaration.

Article 14

(1)

 No contracting State may, as a condition of recognition of the right to protection, require that the article incorporating the design bear a sign or notice concerning the deposit of the design.

(2)

 If the domestic law of a contracting State provides for a notice on the article for any other purpose, such State shall regard such requirement as satisfied if all the articles offered to the public with the authorization of the owner of the rights in the design, or the tags attached to such articles, bear the international design notice.

(3)

 The international design notice shall consist of the symbol (D) (a capital D in a circle) accompanied by:

1.

 the year of the international deposit and the name, or the usual abbreviation of the name, of the depositor, or

2.

 the number of the international deposit.

(4)

 The mere appearance of the international design notice on the article or the tags shall in no case be interpreted as implying a waiver of protection by virtue of copyright or on any other grounds, whenever, in the absence of such notice, such protection may be claimed.

Article 15

(1)

 The fees prescribed by the Regulations shall consist of:

1.

 fees for the International Bureau;

2.

 fees for the contracting States designated by the applicant, namely:

(a)

 a fee for each contracting State;

(b)

 a fee for each contracting State having a novelty examination and requiring the payment of a fee for such examination.

(2)

 Any fees paid in respect of one and the same deposit for a contracting State under paragraph (1)2(a), shall be deducted from the amount of the fee referred to in paragraph (1)2(b), if the latter fee becomes payable for the same State.

Article 16

(1)

 The fees for contracting States referred to in Article 15(1)2, shall be collected by the International Bureau and paid over annually to the contracting States designated by the applicant.
(2)

(a)

 Any contracting State may notify the International Bureau that it waives its right to the supplementary fees referred to in Article 15(1)2(a), in respect of international deposits of which any other contracting State making a similar waiver is deemed to be the State of origin.

(b)

 Such State may make a similar waiver in respect of international deposits of which it is itself deemed to be the State of origin.

Article 17

The Regulations shall govern the details concerning the implementation of this Agreement and in particular:

1.

 the languages and the number of copies in which the application for deposit must be filed, and the data to be supplied in the application;

2.

 the amounts and the dates and method of payment of the fees for the International Bureau and for the States, including the limits imposed on the fee for contracting States having a novelty examination;

3.

 the number, size, and other characteristics, of the photographs or other graphic representations of each design deposited;

4.

 the length of the description of characteristic features of the design;

5.

 the limits within which and conditions under which samples or models of the articles incorporating the design may accompany the application;

6.

 the number of designs that may be included in a multiple deposit and other conditions governing multiple deposits;

7.

 all matters relating to the publication and distribution of the periodical bulletin referred to in Article 6(3)(a), including the number of copies of the bulletin which shall be given free of charge to the national Offices and the number of copies which may be sold at a reduced price to such Offices;

8.

 the procedure for notification by contracting States of any refusal provided for under Article 8(1), and the procedure for communication and publication of such refusals by the International Bureau;

9.

 the conditions for recording and publication by the International Bureau of the changes affecting the ownership of a design referred to in Article 12(1), and for the renunciations referred to in Article 13;

10.

 the disposal of documents and articles concerning deposits for which the possibility of renewal has ceased to exist.

Article 18

The provisions of this Agreement shall not preclude the making of a claim to the benefit of any greater protection which may be granted by domestic legislation in a contracting State, nor shall they affect in any way the protection accorded to works of art and works of applied art by international copyright treaties and conventions.

Article 19

The fees of the International Bureau for services provided for by this Agreement shall be fixed in such a manner:

(a)

 that the proceeds therefrom cover all the expenses of the International Design Service and all those necessitated by the preparation and holding of meetings of the International Design Committee or conferences for the revision of this Agreement;

(b)

 that they allow for the maintenance of the reserve fund referred to in Article 20.

Article 20

(1)

 There shall be a reserve fund of 250,000 Swiss francs. The amount of the reserve fund may be modified by the International Design Committee referred to in Article 21.

(2)

 The reserve fund shall be replenished by the surplus receipts of the International Design Service.

(3)

(a)

 However, at the time of the entry into force of this Agreement, the reserve fund shall be constituted by a single contribution paid by each contracting State and computed in proportion to the number of units corresponding to the class to which it belongs by virtue of Article 13(8) of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

(b)

 States which become party to this Agreement after it enters into force shall also pay a single contribution. The contribution shall be computed according to the principles formulated in the preceding subparagraph, so that all States, whatever the date of their becoming party to the Agreement, shall pay the same contribution per unit.

(4)

 When the amount of the reserve fund exceeds the fixed ceiling, the surplus shall be periodically distributed among the contracting States, in proportion to the single contribution paid by each, up to the maximum amount of that contribution.

(5)

 When the single contributions have been fully reimbursed, the International Design Committee may decide that States subsequently becoming party to the Agreement shall not be required to pay the single contribution.

Article 21

(1)

 There shall be an International Design Committee consisting of representatives of all the contracting States.

(2)

 The Committee shall have the following duties and powers:

1.

 to draw up its own rules of procedure;

2.

 to amend the Regulations;

3.

 to modify the ceiling of the reserve fund referred to in Article 20;

4.

 to establish the International Design Classification;

5.

 to study matters concerning the application and possible revision of this Agreement;

6.

 to study all other matters concerning the international protection of designs;

7.

 to approve the yearly management reports of the International Bureau and to give general instructions to the International Bureau concerning the discharge of the duties assigned to it under this Agreement;

8.

 to draw up a report on the foreseeable expenditure of the International Bureau for each triennial period to come.

(3)

 The decisions of the Committee shall require four-fifths of the votes of its members present or represented and voting in the case of items (2)1, (2)2, (2)3, and (2)4, and a simple majority in all other cases. Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(4)

 The Committee shall be convened by the Director of the International Bureau:

1.

 at least once every three years;

2.

 at any time at the request of one-third of the contracting States, or, if deemed necessary, upon the initiative of the Director of the International Bureau or the Government of the Swiss Confederation.

(5)

 The travel expenses and subsistence allowances of members of the Committee shall be borne by their respective Governments.
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Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs

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