Korea signs up to Hague design protection agreement
South Korea has confirmed that it has signed a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty set up to protect industrial designs.
The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) said it will be joining the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.
The treaty enables its participants to register up to 100 designs in more than 60 territories by filing one international application.
More than 50 jurisdictions have signed up to the agreement, including Spain and Germany, but several major IP offices, including China, the US and Japan, have yet to confirm their membership.
According to a press release issued by KIPO on March 31, WIPO was “eagerly anticipating” its participation in the agreement as it could encourage other IP offices to follow suit.
The release said Japan, China and the US had also been “preparing for accession” to the agreement and that members would soon be able to enjoy the benefit of international applications to protect their industrial designs in the major global economies.
Park Seong-Joon, director general of the trademark and design examination bureau at KIPO, added that Korea’s accession could serve as a “catalyst” for consolidating the office’s partnership with Francis Gurry, the recently re-elected director general at WIPO.
The agreement is expected to enter into force in South Korea on July 1.
