On June 1, 2015 Trevor Copeland and Daniel Parrish's article, "International Design Patent Filing Considerations After U.S. Entry into the Hague Agreement," was published in The Intellectual Property Strategist.
Streamlined Filing for International Design Patents: Pros, Cons, Alternatives
In an article in the June 2015 issue of The Intellectual Property Strategist, Brinks' Trevor Copeland and Daniel Parrish discuss how to optimize an international filing strategy in light of of the USPTO's recent accession to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, which ushers in the implementation of a streamlined process for registering industrial designs in multiple international jurisdictions at the same time.
Effective May 13, 2015, entities seeking international design patents can file at the USPTO a single, standardized application designating any of more than 62 territories, including the U.S. and European Union (EU), for their patents, and can receive the same effective filing date in each jurisdiction.
Applicants may submit up to 100 industrial designs per application, as long as all designs are in the same Locarno Class. This streamlined approach should result in increased filing efficiencies and cost savings for applicants, who may file through the USPTO or directly into the International Bureau of WIPO.
Copeland and Parrish weigh the pros and cons of this newly adopted approach and discuss alternative avenues of protection for inventors seeking patents on industrial designs.
This document is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. You should not act or rely on any information in this document without first seeking legal advice. This material is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any specific questions on any legal matter, you should consult a professional legal services provider.
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