STATUS OF UNITED STATES GENEVA ACT RATIFICATION ,
AS OF JUNE 14, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE:  Unofficial information indicates a hearing on Geneva Act treaty ratification will occur week of July 9, 2007.
 

SUMMARY

1. On November 13, 2006, the Bush Administration submitted the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs to the United States Senate for ratification.  A copy of President Bush's letter in support of ratification and the State Department letter with recommendations can be reviewed by clicking on this link.

2. The treaty was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (Treaty No. 109-21). No Committee action has occurred.

3. The Government Printing Office has not yet published on the web a copy of the treaty or the submitting document. The publication of these documents is expected soon.

4. The change over to Democratic Party leadership for the next Congressional term, in the Senate and House, will likely result in a review of this treaty and a determination of its priority.

5. Legislation approval by Congress, to provide the necessary changes to United States patent law, and the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) preparation and approval of the necessary rule changes, will have to be accomplished, before the United States can submit its membership documents to begin operation under the treaty.

6. The interest of United States companies and organizations in use of the Geneva Act and ratification of this treaty will have a major impact on the priority given to approving the treaty. This interest can be expressed to the Senate Foreign Committee members, particularly its leadership, and to the Bush Administration.
 

DETAILS

The U. S. Senate, on November 13, 2006, removed the injunction of secrecy from the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs. (Treaty Doc. 109-21). The treaty was transmitted to the Senate, considered the treaty and accompanying document as having been read for the first time, referred then to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered them to be printed. Congressional Record, Daily Digest - Senate, Monday, November 13, 2006, S10886 [accessed from the Library of Congress Thomas web site, http://thomas.loc.gov, by a search of the Congressional Record database, for the 109^th Congress, key words "Geneva Act Hague Agreement".
 

The message of the President, accompanying the Treaty, was as follows:

"To the Senate of the United States:

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (the "Agreement"), adopted in Geneva on July 2, 1999, and signed by the United States on July 6, 1999. I also transmit, for the information of the Senate, a report of the Department of State with respect to the Agreement.

This Agreement promotes the ability of U.S. design owners to protect their industrial designs by allowing them to obtain multinational design protection through a single deposit procedure. Under the Agreement, U.S. design owners would be able to file for design registration in any number of Contracting Parties with a single standardized application in English at either the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or at the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Similarly, renewals of a design registration in each Contracting Party may be made by filing a single request along with payment of the appropriate fees at the International Bureau of WIPO. This agreement should make access to international protection of industrial designs more readily available to U.S. businesses.

In the event that the Senate provides its consent to ratify the Agreement, the United States would not deposit its instrument of ratification until the necessary implementing legal structure has been established domestically.

I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to this Agreement and give its advice and consent to its ratification, subject to the declaration described in the accompanying report of the State Department.

George W. Bush

The White House, November 13, 2006"

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The State Department letter has recommendation on what options in the treaty the U. S
should select.  Several of these treaty features were key negotiation topics at the diplomatic conference.  The U.S. has to make a formal statement, call a declaration, to implement these options.  There are other notices that must be communicated to WIPO Bueau to set up working relationships under the treaty.  These declarations and notifications are discussed in the State Department letter.
 
 
 
 

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This page was last updated on June 14, 2007

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