EUROPA has announced that a new system allowing applicants who apply for design registration in the European Union through Community Design system to use the same form to apply for protection under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) international design registration system is expected to be launched on 1 January 2008.

When a Community Design is registered with the Office The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) it gains protection across the whole EU territory. Once the new system is in place the applicant may be granted further protection in countries which are party to the Geneva Act without having to make further applications.

The non-European Union counties that are party to the Geneva Act include: Albania, Armenia, Botswana, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Namibia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.

Sources & further information

EUROPA Press Release - Industrial property: Commission adopts necessary measures for linking EU design registration system with WIPO international system

WIPO - Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs