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International registrations under the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement
International registrations of designs are registrations conducted under an agreement called the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement. The act enters into force in Finland on 1 May 2011. New countries accede to the Geneva Act all the time.
In Finland, you can apply for international registration if you are a Finnish citizen, or if you are domiciled in Finland or have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in Finland.
You can file the application in English, French or Spanish either directly with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland, or with the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR), which then forwards the application to WIPO for processing. WIPO is in charge of the international registration of designs.
In the application, you must designate the member countries of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement in which you apply for protection. The international registration is effective in the designated countries where there are no obstacles to the registration under their laws.
An international registration is valid for five years and it can be renewed for further periods of five years from the expiry of the previous period of registration. The maximum duration of protection depends on the legislation in the designated countries.
Forms are available on the WIPO website
Application form
Fees in Swiss francs (CHF)