On 13 March 2026, WIPO announced Albania as the first state to join the Riyadh Design Law Treaty. The development concerns procedural harmonisation, not a new worldwide design right.
What WIPO announced
The treaty was adopted in November 2024. WIPO reported Albania's deposit of its instrument of ratification on 13 March 2026 and explained that entry into force requires 15 eligible parties, followed by a three-month period. The announcement is a dated milestone and should not be read as confirmation that the treaty is already operational in a particular country.
Distinguish the treaty from the Hague System
The Riyadh treaty concerns administrative requirements and procedures. The Hague System is a separate international registration route with its own membership and designation rules. Neither is a universal right enforceable everywhere merely because a design has been filed once.
What businesses can do now
Continue to plan country by country. Check the route available for the applicant, the current local requirements and the filing deadline. Do not postpone an application in anticipation of future simplification, especially where a product launch or priority period is approaching.
Three practical examples
An exporter considering Albania should verify the current national or international route. A company entering several G20 markets should distinguish treaty participation from availability of Hague designation. A design team standardising its instructions should keep a country-specific checklist until any new rules are actually applicable.
Longer-term significance
More predictable formalities may reduce friction in international filing programmes. Businesses should nevertheless retain a territorial strategy for prosecution, renewals and enforcement. The commercial question remains where protection is needed and how it can be used.
What changes for a filing decision today?
A treaty milestone is useful background, but an applicant still needs an operational filing route. Identify the eligible applicant, the national or international procedure, the required representations and the deadline under the rules currently applicable. A future reduction in formalities should not be used as a reason to delay a filing before an exhibition or commercial release. The product’s disclosure history remains a present risk.
Separate three international questions
First ask whether the jurisdiction participates in a particular treaty. Then ask whether the chosen applicant can use the relevant filing route. Finally ask whether the design satisfies the substantive local law. These questions are connected but not interchangeable. A central filing procedure may simplify administration while leaving national examination, enforcement and maintenance issues to be resolved separately.
A practical instruction file
For an expansion project, maintain a country list showing the proposed route, local adviser if needed, drawings, ownership documents, priority date and publication instructions. Record which countries are essential at launch and which are merely possible later markets. This makes the commercial consequences of excluding a territory visible before the priority period ends. Our country directory provides a starting point for that discussion.
Compare national design law · Representations and partial designs · Procedures and appeals