Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Design Patent Destinations - Hague Seminar to be Presented by WIPO in Geneva

If you're looking to travel and learn about international design patent application regimes, then look no further than WIPO's Hague Seminar, which is taking place on June 23 in Geneva, Switzerland.   The stated objectives of the Seminar are to give practical guidance to users when designating the United States of America, Japan or the Republic  of Korea in an international design application and to receive feedback from those Offices as Designated Contracting Parties.  You can access WIPO's brochure for the seminar here.

WIPO's Hague Convention seminar comes at an important point in the United States' adoption of the Hague Convention.  While the Hague Convention filing process has been available in the United States since May of 2015, surprisingly few applicants have applied for an International Design Patent through the United States Patent Office, as we learned this year at Design Day.  While the Hague Convention certainly presents a more streamlined and cost-effective approach to international design registration, uncertainty regarding regional differences in design practice may be slowing the adoption of the system here in the United States.  Hopefully, the WIPO seminar in June can help provide a clearer path for U.S. filers.