Republic of Korea Joins the Hague System

The Republic of Korea has deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement for the International Registration of Industrial Designs.

With its accession, which takes effect from July 1, 2014, the Republic of Korea joins the WIPO-administered Hague system for the International Registration of Industrial Designs. This will bring the membership of the system to 62.

The Hague system makes it possible for an applicant to register industrial designs in multiple countries by filing a single application with the International Bureau of WIPO. By allowing the filing of up to 100 different designs per application, the system offers significant opportunities for efficiency gains.

It also simplifies the process of multinational registration by reducing the requirement to file separate applications with the IP offices of each Hague member country/region in which protection is sought. The system also streamlines the subsequent management of the industrial design registration, since it is possible to record changes or to renew the registration through a single procedural step.