Hungary harmonizes Design Law with Hague Agreement

The Hungarian Design Law has been amended to harmonize some of its provisions with those of the revised Hague Agreement.

Under the Hague Agreement, nationals of member countries can file a single design application with the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva and obtain design protection in all other member countries.

The revision to the Hague Agreement in July 1999 sought to reduce the fears of some countries that a foreign body granting unexamined rights might have an adverse effect on their own domestic industries. The amended Hague Agreement also accommodates countries wishing to check whether an international design application complies with their national laws.

The new provisions of the Hungarian Design Law include:

• the possibility of renewing the design registration in five-year periods up to a maximum of 25 years;
  
  
• the publication of the design nine months after filing the application, unless the applicant requests a delay in publication, in which case publication may be delayed up to 30 months after filing; and
  
  
• the possibility of including more than one design in a single registration as long as all of the designs fall within the same class according to the Locarno Classification. In this case, it will be possible to renew the registration for only part of the original registration.

Ladas & Parry, New York