Among the international legal acts on the protection of industrial property, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, signed in 1883, is of particular importance. In 2020, 177 states are parties to the Convention.
The Paris Convention addresses industrial property issues in the broadest sense of the word, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, trade names, geographical indications and the suppression of unfair competition.
Administrative and financial regulations are established by the bodies of the Paris Union, formed by the member states of the Paris Convention.
In turn, the union has three administrative bodies: the Assembly, the Executive Committee and the International Bureau of WIPO, headed by the Director General.
This international legal act has established a national regime, according to which citizens of the acceding countries participating in the Paris Convention are provided in all participating countries with the same legal protection for intellectual property objects as provided to applicants who are residents of the participating countries.
The Paris Convention gave rise to the institution of patent priority for a period of one year for applications for inventions and for utility models, and six months for applications for industrial designs and trademarks.
Thus, the applicant received priority in all countries - parties to the Paris Convention from the date of filing the first application in any of these countries.
