Bahrain Now Uses the Locarno Classification for Industrial Designs
Photo: Waldrebell / Pixabay
Bahrain became a member of the Locarno Union on 29 October 2026, when the WIPO-run Locarno Agreement on the international classification of industrial designs took effect for the kingdom. WIPO's treaty notification No. 79 records that Bahrain deposited its instrument of accession on 29 July 2026, which started the three-month countdown.
Bahrain's Ministry of Industry and Commerce said the step was part of aligning national law with international practice. The instrument was handed over in a ceremony at WIPO in Geneva, attended by the kingdom's ambassador to the UN offices there.
The Locarno system sorts designs into classes and subclasses by the product they are applied to, much as the Nice system does for trade marks. Joining it does not change what qualifies for protection, how designs are examined or how long protection lasts. Its practical value is consistency: applicants and searchers can use the same class codes across offices, which makes clearance searches and portfolio management simpler.
Bahrain follows the United Arab Emirates, whose Locarno membership took effect on 6 October 2026. J&C IP Agency reads the two accessions as a Gulf trend towards shared design classification, while stressing that substantive rules still differ from country to country.
Indonesian angle. Indonesia is not a member of the Locarno Agreement, but DJKI classifies industrial design applications using the Locarno classes, and its online filing form asks for them. Indonesian furniture, fashion and packaging exporters filing designs in the Gulf can now reuse the same classification work, but should still check local rules on drawings, examination and fees in each country.
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