Rights holders can now seek industrial design protection in eight EAPO member states through a single application.

Once the treaty enters into force, Georgia will benefit from simplified cross-border industrial design protection.

The Locarno Agreement on Industrial Designs will enter into force in Bahrain on 29 October 2026.

Saudi Arabia and all member states will benefit through simplified and harmonised administrative procedures for protecting industrial designs.

The portal will simplify industrial design registration and dispute procedures.

Kazakhstan’s new Constitution, effective 1 July 2026, now explicitly guarantees intellectual property protection.

The new Code introduces major reforms to the country's IP framework covering trade marks, patents, and industrial designs.

Following the UAE’s accession to the Locarno Agreement on Industrial Designs, the treaty will enter into force in the UAE on 6 October 2026.

The reforms to IP regulations cover official patent fees, trade mark licencing rules, and termination procedures.

If adopted, these reforms would mark the most significant modernisation of the country’s IP framework in decades.

All in-person services will transition to a fully digital platform, and certificates will be issued in electronic format only.

EGIPA revised official fees and added new service fees, including a trade mark administration surcharge and fees for company searches and certified reports.

Although the portal services were suspended during the outage, deadlines remain unaffected and late fees have been waived.

The measure came into effect on 17 March and will remain in force for three months.

The online filing platform enables users to file patent, industrial design, and utility model applications and make payments electronically.