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China’s Accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs
The China government deposited its instrument of accession to Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs （hereinafter referred to as “Hague Agreement”) on 5 February 2022. The Hague Agreement will enter into force in China on 5 May 2022. As of 5 May 2022, a qualified patent applicant will be able to file an International Design Patent Application based on the Hague Agreement to seek international protection of their designs in China；patent applicants from China will be able to utilize the above-mentioned international filing approach to seek design patent protection in multiple countries and regions. The said international filing approach will eliminate the need to proceed with separate and multiple patent filings in individual countries or regions. China's accession to the Hague Agreement has becoming a milestone for the design patent protection practice in China.
Similar to the international patent filing system under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the Hague System provides a straightforward solution to international design patent filings, which is different from the national patent filing under the Paris Convention route. More specifically, under the Hague Agreement, applicants can, by filing one international design patent application with the International Bureau ("IB"), simultaneously seek protection for their designs in multiple countries and regions.
As of 5 May 2022, the effective date of China’s access to Hague Agreement, there will be two routes to seek protection for design in China, that is: (1) filing a direct national patent application in China under the Paris Convention, and (2) filing an international design application under the Hague Agreement with China as designated country. Likewise, in addition to filing a direct national design patent application abroad under the Paris Convention, qualified applicants can alternatively seek protection for their designs aboard by filing international design patent applications under the Hague Agreement designating countries or regions where they intend to seek protection.
According to Article 3 of the Hague Agreement, any person that is a national of a State that is a Contracting Party or of a State member of an intergovernmental organization that is a Contracting Party，or that has a domicile，a habitual residence or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the territory of a Contracting Party，shall be entitled to file an international application． It is worth mentioning that, before China's accession to the Hague Agreement, some Chinese business enterprises have already filed their international design patent applications under the Hague Agreement. According to statistical data published by WIPO, China ranked No. 7 in country of origin for international design patent applications filed under the Hague Agreement in 2020.
China began preparations for accession to the Hague Agreement years ago. To keep pace with the international standards and prepare for China's future participation in the Hague Agreement, the fourth amendment of the China Patent Law (which took effect as of 1 June 2021) included provisions extending the duration of a design patent from 10 years to 15 years. China is now actively proceeding with preparations for its accession to the Hague Agreement. In the draft Amendments to the Implementing Regulations of the China Patent Law" released on 27 November 2020 to seek general public’s comments, a new Chapter 11 entitled "Regarding Special Provisions Concerning International Design Application" was included. In the draft Amendments to the Patent Examination Guidelines" released on 3 August 2021, Part VI "International Design Application" (which consists of two chapters respectively entitled "Processing of International Design Application Procedural Matters" and "Examination of International Design Application Entering National Phase ") was also included.
Amendments of the Implementation Regulations of the China Patent Law and the Patent Examination Guidelines are still ongoing, which will provide details as to how to proceed with an international design patent application under the Hague Agreement. We will closely follow up and keep our clients updated as the amendments are finalized and announced.
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