In more detail
Finalized and signed on 22 November 2024, the Riyadh Treaty is a landmark global development that will extend protection over designs through greater harmonization of intellectual property registration processes.
Today, the process for protecting designs varies from country to country. As design rights are territorial, designers must go through differing registration processes in each country or region where they wish to protect their designs.
The Riyadh Treaty will make the framework for design protection procedures more predictable, and simplify international processes and registration.
Key features of the Riyadh Treaty
- Establishes a maximum list of indications or elements that designers must submit with an application. Having a closed list of elements will help to create a predictable framework for design protection procedures.
- Allows applicants to choose how they present the design in an application (e.g., drawings, photographs, video, etc.)
- Allows applicants to include several designs in a single application, under certain conditions
- Keeps the list of filing-date requirements for design applications to a minimum. This prevents postponing of the filing date, which can result in a definitive loss of rights in the field of design.
- Provides for a grace period of 12 months following a first disclosure of the design, during which such disclosure will not affect its validity for registration
- Allows applicants to keep their designs unpublished for at least six months after securing a filing date
- Offers some flexibility and relief measures to applicants who miss a deadline to prevent their loss of rights, which is irreparable in the field of design
- Simplifies the procedure for requesting the renewal of a design registration
- Introduces e-filing systems for designs and the electronic exchange of priority documents
The Riyadh Treaty is available on the WIPO website: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/sct/en/dlt_dc/dlt_dc_26.pdf
* * * * *
For further information and to discuss what this development might mean for you, please get in touch with your usual Baker McKenzie contact.
* * * * *
© 2024 Baker & McKenzie. Wong & Leow. All rights reserved. Baker & McKenzie. Wong & Leow is incorporated with limited liability and is a member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, a global law firm with member law firms around the world. In accordance with the common terminology used in professional service organizations, reference to a "principal" means a person who is a partner, or equivalent, in such a law firm. Similarly, reference to an "office" means an office of any such law firm. This may qualify as "Attorney Advertising" requiring notice in some jurisdictions. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
