source：Issuance by SIPO    release date：March 25, 2022

On February 5, China submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) its instrument of accession to the Hague Agreement on the International Registration of Industrial Designs (hereinafter referred to as the Hague Agreement), which will come into force in China on May 5.

The Hague Agreement is an international intellectual property agreement applicable to the field of industrial design. Together with the Madrid Agreement on The International Registration of Trademarks and the Patent Cooperation Treaty, it constitutes three service systems in the field of industrial property and is managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  Through the Agreement, it is possible for an applicant to obtain industrial design protection in several Contracting parties by submitting a single international application to the receiving office.

The earliest version of the Hague Agreement was adopted on 6 November 1925. The latest version is the 1999 version, which came into force on 1 April 2004.  In recent years, the number of Parties to the Hague Agreement has been increasing and the influence of the Hague system has been expanding.  As of 24 January 2022, there were 76 Parties to the Hague Agreement and 67 parties to its 1999 text, including 65 States and 2 intergovernmental organizations.

On June 1, 2021, China’s newly revised patent Law officially came into effect, extending the protection period of designs from 10 years before the revision to 15 years. This revision was in preparation for China’s accession to the Hague Agreement.

In January 2022, China officially joined the 1999 Hague Agreement with the approval of The State Council, and it will formally enter into force on May 5, 2022. This will provide more convenience for Chinese and overseas applicants in the international protection of the design of their products.  

Source Link: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/2/9/art_53_173132.html