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.