Amendment of the German Design Act

On 18 June 2009, the German parliament passed two laws relating to international design protection. The new laws will bring harmonise German design law at international level and ensure that the conditions for ratification of the Geneva Act are met. By ratifying the Geneva Act and amending the German Design Act, Germany has broadened the options for international registration of designs at WIPO and improved the international registration procedure at the German Patent and Trademark Office. There are further plans to supplement the Design Act with rules on the effect of international registrations, on notifications of refusal and on the possibility of removing design protection.