Explanatory Note
(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order, pursuant to section 13(1) of the Registered Designs Act 1949, declares the countries specified in Schedule 1 to be convention countries for the purposes of all the provisions of the Registered Designs Act 1949. In this Order the term “country” includes colonies, protectorates and territories by reason of section 13(3) of that Act.
The majority of the countries specified in the Order have acceded to the International Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (“the Paris Convention”) (as revised at Stockholm in 1967) (Cmnd. 4431) or the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation (including the Agreement on Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) (Cm. 2556-59, 2561-69, 2571-74).
With the exception of Andorra, Angola, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro and the Seychelles all of the specified countries have already been declared to be convention countries by the Designs (Convention Countries) Order 1994 (SI 1994/3219) (as amended by the other four instruments listed in Schedule 2). This Order revokes all those earlier Orders and provides a consolidated list of countries that are convention countries for the purposes of all the provisions of the Registered Designs Act 1949.