The draft Decree N° 274/22, providing for Brazil's accession to the Hague Agreement on the International Registration of Industrial Designs was recently approved on October 6th by the Federal Senate.
The accession of Brazil to the Hague system is the result of a decisional process to integrate the Brazilian Industrial Property protection regime to the main international IP registration system managed by the World Industrial Property Office (WIPO), following the Brazilian's accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in force since 1978, and the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Trademarks effective since 2019.
The Hague Agreement is an international registration system which allows applicants to protect an industrial design in multiple countries or regions through a single international application before the International Bureau of WIPO, simplifying procedures, and reducing costs.
The Brazilian's accession to the Hague Agreement will benefit not only Brazilians but also foreigners, who will be able to apply for simultaneous protection in 94 member countries, among which are the largest economies in the world. The measure will also allow Brazil to attract more investments, especially in the design and innovation sectors.
To become effective, said draft decree will now proceed to the President of the Republic for promulgation. Once a Decree promulgating the Hague Agreement on the International Registration of Industrial Designs is signed by the President of the Republic, domestic companies will be able to benefit from this new system. Consequently, the Brazilian Patent and Trademark office (BPTO) will need to prepare to join the Hague Agreement by issuing resolution(s), aiming to change, in the near future, the industrial design registration procedure in Brazil.
This is a very positive outcome for the modernization of Brazil´s Industrial Property System, in line with the recent BPTO´s initiatives to consolidate itself among the main institutes in the world.
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