Regular readers will recall that last month we published the news that Russia had ratified the Hague Agreement.

WIPO has now published an information notice stating that the ratification was accompanied by the following declarations:

– the declaration referred to in Article 7(2) of the 1999 Act, that, in connection with an international application in which the Russian Federation is designated, and in connection with the renewal of any international registration resulting from such an international application, the prescribed designation fee shall be replaced by an individual designation fee. The details of the declaration and the amount of the individual designation fee will be the subject of a further information notice;

– the declaration referred to in Article 11(1)(b) of the 1999 Act, that the law of the Russian Federation does not provide for the deferment of the publication of an industrial design;

– the declaration referred to in Article 13(1) of the 1999 Act, whereby, in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation, industrial designs that are the subject of the same international application shall meet the requirement of the unity of a single creative concept;

– the declaration referred to in Article 16(2) of the 1999 Act, whereby the recording of a change in ownership of an international registration in the International Register shall have no effect in the Russian Federation until the Office of the Russian Federation has received the corresponding documents on the transfer of the rights;

– the declaration required under Article 17(3)(c) of the 1999 Act, specifying that the maximum duration of protection of an industrial design provided for by the law of the Russian Federation is 25 years;

– the declaration referred to in Rule 13(4) of the Common Regulations Under the 1999 Act and the 1960 Act of the Hague Agreement specifying that the period of one month referred to in paragraph (3) of the said rule for forwarding an international application filed through the Office of the Russian Federation shall be replaced by a period of six months due to security clearance;

– the declaration referred to in Rule 18(1)(b) of the Common Regulations, whereby the prescribed period of six months for notifying a refusal of the effects of an international registration is replaced by a period of 12 months; and,

– the declaration referred to in Rule 18(1)(c)(i) of the Common Regulations, whereby the international registration shall produce the effect referred to in Article 14(2)(a) of the 1999 Act in the Russian Federation from the date when the Office of the Russian Federation notifies the International Bureau of WIPO of the grant of protection, which shall be within six months from the date of expiration of the refusal period.

The 1999 Act and the declarations will enter into force with respect to the Russian Federation on 28 February 2018.