WIPO's Hague System and Sport Designs

It’s hard to imagine sport without the influence of design. Whether you are lacing up your shoes for a run or folding a parachute before a jump, design in sport is just as much about aesthetics as it is about safety, performance, and brand recognition. Companies all around the world have put significant effort and resources into developing designs that speak to their customers in innovative ways.

The ski slopes and the open sea don’t, at first sight, have much in common, but they represent the landscape for two different types of sports for which companies have created innovative designs to provide customers with new ways to surf the slopes and to explore the world underwater.

Powdaze – the snowboard attachment

Take a mountain topped with fresh snow, for example. Fresh powder is the dream of many skiers and snowboarders, but the weather is unpredictable and you never know exactly when the powder will arrive. One day you may be riding hard-packed slopes, the next, after a fresh snowfall over night, the call of fresh powder beckons.

However keen a snowboarder might be to hit the deep powder, doing so often requires different equipment from that used on an average run down the well-beaten slopes of a resort. Snowboards, for example, come in all shapes and sizes and are made for various types of terrain. An all-mountain board might work in most conditions, but isn’t the best board for the deep powder. Serious deep powder snowboarders use a powder board specifically for the deep powder.

While snowboards look and feel graceful on the mountain, they are cumbersome to carry and take up precious cargo space whether you are traveling by road, rail, or air. For powder lovers, and those who just want to give it a go, a powder board is the best option. But transporting two boards just in case you’re lucky enough to find some powder is not the most feasible or cost-effective option.

Enter Powdaze, which offers a simple yet unique solution to this problem. Instead of another board, Powdaze is an attachment that fits on almost any board to make it powder-ready in just five minutes. The unique design of this light, versatile, and affordable attachment means that snowboarders don’t need to purchase another expensive snowboard or lug it with them to the mountain. When the powder hits, a snowboarder simply attaches Powdaze to their existing board and it is ready to go.

The Powdaze design adds a significant amount of surface area and taper to the nose of a standard snowboard, and helps increase the amount of float – how well a snowboard floats across deep powder snow. This allows a rider to increase the weight over their front foot to have better control over turns without sinking into the snow. The Powdaze aims to give snowboarders all of the benefits of a powder snowboard without the increased cost and bother of buying, maintaining and transporting a powder board.

Vying for release on the international market, ALLWINTER Limited, the company behind Powdaze, secured an international design registration through the Hague system for the International Registration of Industrial Designs, designating some of the world’s most popular ski and snowboard destinations, such as the European Union, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States of America.

SEAC full-face snorkel mask

If you are more of the beach type, you might be thinking about donning a snorkel to take in the underwater sights. Although a very accessible activity that just about anyone can do, there is a learning curve. Snorkel masks require the user to breathe out of the mouth only. This can take some getting used to. Most snorkel masks do not have a dry top system, which means water may easily enter the snorkel, potentially causing difficulties for an inexperienced user. It may even cause them to panic in the water. Traditional snorkels also have a few other drawbacks; they can fog up easily, they only provide a narrow range of vision, and they can present hygiene concerns if the mouthpiece is not cleaned properly.

Companies such as SEAC offer a different type of snorkel mask that solves many of these issues and is designed for those who are looking for a leisurely time snorkeling. SEAC’s full-face snorkel masks provide the user with a much wider field a view, do not have a separate mouthpiece, are less prone to fogging up, and allow the user to breathe through either their mouth or nose. Full-face snorkel masks also typically feature a standard dry top system, meaning a user does not have to worry about water coming in from the top of the snorkel.

This type of mask can be a great choice for those who want to have a leisurely snorkel, see more of what’s around them, and not worry about foggy masks. For many people, these masks are easier to use than a traditional snorkel. In recent years, full-face masks have become popular, although some concerns have been expressed about cheap, low-quality imitations, which have not been subject to the same set of safety tests as those brands that enjoy projection through the IP system. Users should be sure to buy quality full-face masks from an accredited retailer to ensure they buy a quality product that is safe and enjoyable to use.

SEAC is a trusted brand and has made an international design application for one of their most recent full-face snorkeling masks.

International Design Protection through the Hague System

Both ALLWINTER Snowboarding and SEAC have recognized the importance of bringing their designs to international markets. The Hague System has helped to serve as a cost-effective vehicle through which they have been able to protect their designs, remain competitive, and build a strong reputation.

About the Hague System

The Hague System offers a practical, cost-effective, and efficient business solution to register industrial designs internationally. Through a single application, you can register up to 100 industrial designs in 70 countries and intergovernmental organizations. By using Hague, you do away with the need to file applications in each of your target countries/regions individually.

One application, one set of fees, and all in one language – international industrial design registration made easy!

• Learn more about the advantages of the Hague System