The International Protection of Designs

Design is integral to our everyday lives to the extent that sometimes we are scarcely aware of it. It is manifest in every industrial sector from clothing to furniture, packaging to jewellery, household goods to toys, while at the same time it is intrinsic to the purely aesthetic domain of the visual arts. This book examines the ways in which the creators of such designs may seek to protect their work from exploitation across national boundaries. The work provides a basic introduction to the international legal instruments by which international protection for designs may be secured. It analyses both the Hague Agreement concerning industrial designs, which sets out a procedure for international deposits, and the Berne Convention covering literary and artistic works, which provides wider protection without registration formalities. The analysis includes the principles underpinning these instruments, the scope of protection offered, the conditions and formalities required, and the way in which the instruments interface with national intellectual property legislation. Lists of parties to the instruments and the text of the instruments themselves are included in annex.