With effect from January 01, 2008 the European Union will be a member state of the Hague Convention for protection of designs, namely in the latest part of the treaties, the Geneva File.

Therefore, it is possible to extend the protection of an EU design easily to member states of the Geneva File. Member states of the Geneva File are, for example, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Singapore, etc. Altogether, 25 countries and organisations, respectively, are members of this international agreement.

Within the Hague Convention, it is possible for a natural or legal person, who is located in the member states or has their nationality, to get a design protection easily in several countries by filing one international application with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). In this context it is not necessary to file a national application previously.

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