On April 19, 2021 Belarus joined the Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs, expanding the system's coverage further into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). As of July 19, 2021, it will be possible to designate Belarus on an international design application and to benefit from the advantages of Hague System mechanisms for protecting industrial designs.
The Hague System is a cost-effective and time-efficient instrument for obtaining the protection of industrial-design rights in multiple markets. A single international application replaces a number of national applications, making compliance easier and providing for the centralized and straightforward management of design registrations through the WIPO. It is available in 92 countries, including the CIS member states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Russia, and now Belarus.
Another option for protecting your design in CIS member states is by filing a Eurasian industrial design application under the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs to the Eurasian Patent Convention. The Eurasian Patent Organization announced that applications will be accepted as of June 1, 2021. From this date forward, Eurasian design patents will be effective in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The other member states yet to ratify the protocol are Belarus, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Unlike the Hague System, wherein the local laws and patentability requirements of the designated countries apply later during the substantive examination of the design, Eurasian industrial design applications will be examined by the Eurasian Patent Organization and will need to conform to the single, uniform requirements for patentability.