Brazil joins Hague International Designs System
2 March 2023
Brazil has ratified the Hague Agreement for the International Registration of Industrial Designs. This means that from 1 August 2023 Brazil can be designated in new international design applications under the Hague system. Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America.
International design applications allow applicants to submit a single design application to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Office and obtain design protection in up to 71 contracting parties, which include all European Union (EU) member states, the UK, USA, China, Japan, South Korea and Canada (Hague Contracting Parties). The fees are calculated according to the number of designs and which territories have been selected, and are, conveniently, paid to a single entity.
The Hague system therefore provides a streamlined, cost-effective process for obtaining and renewing design protection in several countries. The addition of Brazil makes the Hague system truly global.
To comply with Brazilian national law, International design applications which designate Brazil as a contracting party will need to be restricted to containing only a single design (with up to 20 variants) and with no possibility to defer publication. As always with the Hague system, designers will need to consider carefully whether the mutual requirements of several designated countries in a Hague design application affords the most appropriate protection or whether filing nationally in some countries is more suitable.
Withers & Rogers’ Designs group is available to help navigate these nuances to ensure designers can obtain the most suitable, cost-effective protection for their designs.
This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
© Withers & Rogers March 2023
