Amendments to Rule 21 of the Regulations under the 1999 Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement took effect on 1 July 2026. Holders of international registrations may now use the mandatory new Form DM/10 to add a creator’s name and address to the International Register, or to record changes to those details. A request may cover one, some or all designs in a registration, and the recorded change will be published in the International Designs Bulletin. The fee is CHF 144 for one international registration, plus CHF 72 for each additional registration included in the same request.
Industry reports have described the measure as a new “right of attribution” for design creators, but its legal effect is narrower: it creates a practical recordal and maintenance mechanism rather than automatically establishing or expanding substantive attribution rights under the laws of designated Contracting Parties. For businesses, the change makes accurate creator records more useful—and more important. Design teams should therefore align inventor-style documentation, employment ownership records and authorisations before filing, especially because a change of name cannot be used to replace one creator with another.
