India is a member of several international treaties and conventions related to Intellectual Property (IP), administered mainly by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). These treaties aim to harmonize IP protection, promote cooperation, and facilitate international recognition of rights.
Multilateral IP Treaties under WIPO
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (Adopted: Paris –March 20, 1883 /Amended: September 28, 1979)
India: Joined in 1998
Contracting Parties/Signatories Paris Convention (Total Members: 181)
The Paris Convention, adopted in 1883, applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models, service marks, trade names, geographical indications and the repression of unfair competition. This international agreement was the first major step taken to help creators ensure that their intellectual works were protected in other countries.
The Paris Convention applies to industrial property in the widest sense, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, utility models (a kind of “small-scale patent” provided for by the laws of some countries), service marks, trade names (designations under which an industrial or commercial activity is carried out), geographical indications (indications of source and appellations of origin) and the repression of unfair competition.
India, being a part of Paris Convention, every Indian citizen is entitled to:
National treatment: Under the provisions on national treatment, the Convention provides that, as regards the protection of industrial property, each Contracting State must grant the same protection to nationals of other Contracting States that it grants to its own nationals. Nationals of non-Contracting States are also entitled to national treatment under the Convention if they are domiciled or have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in a Contracting State.
Right of Priority: The Convention provides for the right of priority in the case of patents (and utility models where they exist), marks and industrial designs. This right means that, on the basis of a regular first application filed in one of the Contracting States, the applicant may, within a certain period of time (12 months for patents and utility models; 6 months for industrial designs and marks), apply for protection in any of the other Contracting States. These subsequent applications will be regarded as if they had been filed on the same day as the first application. In other words, they will have priority (hence the expression “right of priority”) over applications filed by others during the said period of time for the same invention, utility model, mark or industrial design.
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), 1970
India: Acceded in 1998
Contracting Parties/Signatories Patent Cooperation Treaty (Total Members: 158)
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) makes it possible to seek patent protection for an invention simultaneously in each of a large number of countries by filing an “international” patent application. Such an application may be filed by anyone who is a national or resident of a PCT Contracting State. It may generally be filed with the national patent office of the Contracting State of which the applicant is a national or resident or, at the applicant’s option, with the International Bureau of WIPO in Geneva.
It allows filing of a single international patent application effective in multiple countries.
Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure (1977)
India: Acceded in 2001
Contracting Parties/Signatories Patent Cooperation Treaty (Total Members: 91)
International Depository Authority (IDA)till 2024: 51
Adopted in 1977, the Budapest Treaty concerns a specific topic in the international patent process: microorganisms. All states party to the Treaty are obliged to recognize microorganisms deposited as a part of the patent procedure, irrespective of where the depository authority is located. In practice this means that the requirement to submit microorganisms to each and every national authority in which patent protection is sought no longer exists.
Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (June 15, 1957)
India deposited its instrument of accession on: June 7, 2019
The treaties entered into force on: September 7, 2019.
Contracting Parties/Signatories Nice Agreement (Total Members: 95)
The Nice Classification (NCL), established by the Nice Agreement (1957), is an international classification of goods and services applied for the registration of marks. A new edition is published every five years and, since 2013, a new version of each edition is published annually.
Vienna Agreement Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks (June 12, 1973)
India deposited its instrument of accession on: June 7, 2019
The treaties entered into force on: September 7, 2019.
Contracting Parties/Signatories Vienna Agreement (Total Members: 40)
Provides an international system for classifying logos and figurative elements of trademarks. The Vienna Agreement establishes a classification for marks which consist of or contain figurative elements. The competent offices of the Contracting States must indicate in the official documents and publications relating to registrations and renewals of marks the appropriate symbols of the Classification.
Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs (October 8, 1968)
India deposited its instrument of accession on: June 7, 2019
The treaties entered into force on: September 7, 2019.
Contracting Parties/Signatories Locarno Agreement (Total Members: 63)
Provides uniform classification of industrial designs. June 7, 2019 was a breakthrough moment for India as it finally formally acceded to the Locarno Agreement establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs becoming the 57th member of the Agreement. In furtherance to this, the Design Rules, 2001 were amended as on 25 January 2021 through the introduction of Design (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886)
India: Member since 1928 (British India), continued post-independence
Contracting Parties/Signatories Berne Convention (Total Members: 182)
To ensure that creators (authors, artists, musicians, etc.) from one member country enjoy the same copyright protection in all other member countries as nationals of those countries.
WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), 1996
India: Acceded in 2018
Contracting Parties/Signatories (Total Members: 182)
It ensures adequate protection of authors’ works (like literary and artistic works) in digital environments, including online use and distribution. The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) has 115 contracting parties as of August 2023.
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), 1996
India: Acceded in 2018
Contracting Parties/Signatories WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (Total Members: 114)
To update and strengthen the protection of performers (singers, musicians, actors, etc.) and producers of phonograms (sound recordings) in the digital environment — complementing the Berne Convention and WCT.
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), 1995
India: Member since 1995
Contracting Parties/Signatories (Total Members: 166)
Sets minimum standards for IP protection and enforcement across all WTO member countries. Covers patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets, and geographical indications.
Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1891) and Madrid Protocol (1989)
India: Joined the Madrid Protocol in 2013
Contracting Parties/Signatories Madrid Protocol : 115)
Allows international registration of trademarks through a single application. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989. The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties.
Nairobi Treaty on the Protection of the Olympic Symbol (1981)
India joined on: June 30, 1983
Contracting Parties/Signatories Nairobi Treaty (Total Members: 56)
All States party to the Nairobi Treaty are under the obligation to protect the Olympic symbol – five interlaced rings – against use for commercial purposes (in advertisements, on goods, as a mark, etc.) without the authorization of the International Olympic Committee. An important effect of the Treaty is that, if the International Olympic Committee grants authorization to use the Olympic symbol in a State party to the Treaty, the National Olympic Committee of that State is entitled to a part in any revenue the International Olympic Committee obtains for granting the said authorization.
Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (1971)
India deposited its instrument of accession to the Strasbourg Agreement on: July 7, 2025
The Agreement will enter into force with respect to India on: July 7, 2026 (as per WIPO’s official notification)
Upon its entry into force, India will formally become a Contracting Party to the Strasbourg Agreement, thereby aligning its patent classification practices more closely with international standards.
Contracting Parties/Signatories Strasbourg Agreement (Total Members: 67)
The Agreement – commonly referred to as the Strasbourg Agreement – establishes the International Patent Classification (IPC) which divides technology into eight sections with approximately 80,000 subdivisions. Each subdivision is denoted by a symbol consisting of Arabic numerals and letters of the Latin alphabet. The appropriate IPC symbols are indicated on patent documents (published patent applications and granted patents), of which more than 3 million were issued each year in the last five years. The IPC symbols are allotted by the national or regional industrial property office that publishes the patent document. For PCT applications, IPC symbols are allotted by the International Searching Authority (ISA). The Classification is indispensable for the retrieval of patent documents in the search for “prior art”. Such retrieval is needed by patent-issuing authorities, potential inventors, research and development units and others concerned with the application or development of technology.
Hague System – The International Design System(1925)
India is not a part of Hague system(This is added in the chapter as it is asked in the PAE)
Contracting Parties/Signatories Hague Agreement (Total Members: 82)
The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs provides a practical business solution for registering up to 100 designs in 99 countries by filing a single international application.
Link to 55 treaties of which India is a part of:
