Mauritius: new year, new beginnings
Mauritius is enjoying a year full of changes and progress, which began with the Industrial Property Act 2019 entering into force on January 31, 2022.
Currently, Mauritius is a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and a signatory to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Universal Copyright Convention, and the Berne Convention.
Mauritius joins the Madrid and Hague System
On February 6, the government of Mauritius deposited its instrument of accession to the Madrid and the Hague System which entered into force on May 6, 2023.
Madrid Protocol: From May 2023, trademark applicants in Mauritius will be able to secure the protection of their trademarks in all member countries, through a single registration application.
Canada and the United Kingdom join the Hague System
On March 13 of 2018, the Government of the UK deposited its instrument of accession of the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement.
Recently on July 16 of 2018, the Gorvernment of Canada did the same, making it the 69th member of the Hague Union.
By joining this system, applicants from both countries will be able to designate 69 countries regarding registrations up to 100 industrial designs. This means the process for applicants will be simpler since it will only be necessary to do one application and pay a single set of fees.
The Hague System in Africa
After attending INTA’s conference “The Power of Design”, Inês Monteiro Alves discusses the lack of mention of Africa as a Continent, regarding IP rights and designs in particular.
Upon attending the INTA’s Conference “The Power of Design” on February this year, in London, I became aware of the lack of mention of Africa as a Continent in what regards the protection of IP Rights in general and designs in particular.
Russian Federation - Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs
Last November of 2017, the Russian Federation deposited its intrument of ratification of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industial Designs, adopted at Geneva on the 2nd of July of 1999.
Applicants from countries that belong to the Hague Convention will be able to file one international application that directly covers several countries and Russia will now be an option.
The same will enter into force, in respect of the Russian Federation, on February 28 of 2018.
Brazil: Apostille Convention comes into effect
The Hague Convention that abolishes the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents, also known as the Apostille Convention, has entered into force past August 14st, 2016.
Before, foreign documents had to be authenticated at a Notary Public and legalized up to Brazilian Consulate, but now the process is simpler and less bureaucratic. Documents that had to be filed at the National IP Institute, notarized or legalized, should now be apostilled.
Japan and USA join The Hague System for International Design registration
On February 13, 2015, USA and Japan deposited official instruments at WIPO headquarters in Geneva bringing the number of memberships of Hague System to 64. This Agreement came into effect on May 13, 2015.
The Hague System is an international registration system that facilitates the process of obtaining design protection in multiple countries by means of a single international application filed with the International Bureau of The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) either electronically or on paper.