U.S. Law Changes Will Lead To Streamlined Design Protection For Global Products

Companies selling global products frequently take advantage of design protection in multiple countries. Recent U.S. legislation clears the way for streamlined design patent filings in several countries with a single application. The United States took steps last week to join an international agreement that affects the rights of those applying for design patents. On Friday, February 13, 2015, the United States submitted the formal papers necessary for the U.S. to join the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (Hague Agreement). The terms of the Hague Agreement go into effect in the United States on May 13, 2015. Under the new law, applicants no longer have to pursue design protection in individual countries and can instead file a single international design application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and obtain protection in all countries that are members to the Hague Agreement. The