Designs
China: direct design protection now possible
May 09, 2022
China has joined an international design registration system (the ‘Hague System’) that enables us to file a single international design application to cover multiple countries, without overseas attorneys and their associated fees.
Following on from our more detailed article on 15 February 2022, we are pleased to report that China has now joined the Hague system, effective from 5 May 2022. We are therefore able to take immediate action to protect new designs in China.
The Chinese Intellectual Property Office will only examine design applications for clarity, without any substantial examination as to their originality or distinctiveness.
Once granted, protection in China lasts for up to 15 years.
Chinese registration of your intellectual property will make it easier to use infringement reporting tools on Chinese ecommerce platforms, such as Alibaba™. In addition, it will be easier to engage with enforcement agencies, when tackling counterfeiting or other infringements in China.
How can we help?
Our chartered patent and trade mark attorneys are also experienced design attorneys. We regularly file international design applications and can help you to protect designs anywhere in the world.
If you have any queries, please speak to your usual contact at Swindell & Pearson, or get in touch with Tim Gilbert, the author of this article.
Tim Gilbert
IP Director