INTERNATIONAL DESIGN 

An application for registration of an international design can be effected by any physical person or legal entity, resident or having a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in a member state of the Hague Agreement.
At the time of application, the countries of interest adhering to the Hague Agreement must be indicated, and the design, once registered, will have the same effects as a national registration.
It is not necessary to previously file a national design and the application must be submitted to the WIPO in Geneva.
If there is an application for national design, its priority can be claimed within 6 months, also allowing the rights of international design to be calculated from the filing date of the national application.
In some countries there is a search and formal examination and also on the novelty of the design.
It is also possible to file various designs and models with the same application provided they form part of the same product class relating to the Locarno International Classification.
The duration of international design varies according to the states designated whereas the maintenance fees are due every five years.
An international design can be exploited through licensing agreements (allowed for all or part of the designated territories), sales contracts (allowed only for parties that may require an international trademark) or used as security right; furthermore, a customs supervision can be implemented from the design application, by filing an application for intervention at the customs office that will inform the trademark holder of any transiting of suspected goods.