Instrument of acceptance of termination of London Act of Hague Agreement is deposited

The Kingdom of Morocco deposited its instrument of acceptance of the termination of the London Act of the Hague Agreement with the World Intellectual Property Organisation on December 4 2012. Morocco still remains a member of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. The Hague Act (1960) entered into force in Morocco on October 13 1999.

The Hague Agreement relates to the international registration of industrial designs. It is also known as the Hague system, whereby one may register an industrial design in many countries by means of a single design application. The Hague Agreement comprises a number of separate treaties, including the London Act of June 2 1934, the Hague Act of November 28 1960, and the Geneva Act of July 2 1999.

Presently, 13 African countries, as well as the regional organisation OAPI, are contracting parties to the Hague Agreement. Accordingly, 23 African countries may be covered by a Hague design application, namely: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Republic of Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Republic of Tunisia.

Craig Kahn and Margaret Le Galle, Spoor & Fisher, Pretoria and Jersey