Applying for a Registered Design Outside Singapore
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Protection for designs is territorial in nature. A separate registration will have to be made in each of the countries where protection is desired. To obtain protection outside Singapore, the applicant needs to file his applications directly in the countries concerned either individually or via the Hague System.
The Hague System is an international registration system that is administered by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Under the Hague system, a single international application replaces a whole series of national applications which, otherwise, should have been effected at the national level with different national offices. This system gives the owner of a registered design the convenience of having his design protected in several countries simultaneously by filing one application with the International Bureau of WIPO, in one language, and paying one set of fees in one currency (Swiss francs).
- The applicant enjoys the convenience of filing only one application, in one language, and pays one fee to one office, instead of filing separate applications in the designs offices of the various countries party to the Hague Agreement in different languages, and paying a separate fee to each designs office.
- Should the applicant need to make subsequent changes to his registration, such as a change of his address or a change in ownership of the registered design, or to renew the registration, he can easily effect the change or renew the registration through a single application with the International Bureau of WIPO.
- With a single international registration, the applicant need not constantly monitor the deadlines for the renewal of a whole series of national registrations.
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As Singapore is party to the Geneva (1999) Act of the Hague Agreement, an international application may be filed through IPOS in Singapore. The list of countries party to the Hague Agreement can be found on the WIPO website.
All forms pertaining to the international registration of a design are available at the WIPO website and the fees for such forms should be made out to WIPO. The applicant may choose to file the application in French or English with WIPO. However, all applications, forms and communications submitted via the Registry of Designs at IPOS must be in English.
The WIPO official forms are:
- Application for International Registration DM/1
- Explanatory Notes on the Official Application form DM/1 DM/1.INF
The WIPO official forms are downloadable here.
IPOS International Registration Payment form.
The date of filing is the date on which IPOS receives the international application and the required fees (provided that the application is received by the International Bureau of WIPO within one month thereafter).
For international applications designating Singapore, please note the following:
A single international application may comprise several different designs, up to a maximum of 100 designs. All the designs must belong to the same class of the Locarno Classification for Industrial Designs. If an international application designates Singapore, the applicant should note that designs that are subject of the same application must conform to a requirement of unity of design, unity of production or unity of use, or belong to the same set or composition of items, or that only one independent and distinct design may be claimed in a single application.
If the international registration designating Singapore does not conform to this principle of "unity of design", IPOS will inform the International Bureau of WIPO of the fact at the examination stage. The applicant will be invited to divide his application to overcome the objection. The application to divide the international registration must be made within three months from the notification by IPOS. The divided applications will have the same filing date as that of the international registration.
Under the Geneva (1999) Act of the Hague Agreement, publication of an international registration may be deferred up to 30 months from the date of filing, or the priority date. However, Singapore does not provide for deferment of publication. Hence, if an international registration designates Singapore and the applicant wishes to proceed with the deferment, he may have to withdraw Singapore from the list of designated countries.
International applications designating Singapore under the Hague Agreement are published in IPOS' Designs Journal, in a separate section entitled "International Registrations Designating Singapore". Unlike Singapore national applications, they are published according to the international registration number instead of the class of the article as represented in the Locarno Classification for Industrial Designs. |
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