The Locarno Agreement[1] is an international treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) that establishes a standardised, universal classification system for industrial designs.

The Kingdom of Bahrain joined it (via Law No. 21 of 2026)[2], updating its national intellectual property system to use the same cataloguing codes for product designs that most of the rest of the world uses.

The Significance?

• Common Language for Designs: Instead of using unique local categories to classify the look and shape of a product (like a smartphone case, a piece of furniture, or a bottle), Bahrain's patent and trademark office now sorts them into the international standard of 32 main classes and over 200 subclasses.
  

• Easier for Global Businesses: If a foreign company or designer wants to file a design patent or register an industrial design in Bahrain, they no longer have to navigate a weird, localised system. They can use the same classification numbers they use in Europe, Asia, or the US.
  

• Streamlined Searching: It allows global databases (such as WIPO's Global Design Database) to search, cross-reference, and retrieve design filings in Bahrain alongside those of dozens of other member countries.
  

Before this update, if a designer or a global company wanted to protect the visual appearance of a product (such as the unique shape of a perfume bottle, a car part, or a smartphone interface) in Bahrain, they had to navigate Bahrain's distinct, localised administrative filing system.

By joining the Locarno Agreement through this recent law, Bahrain's Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) completely overhauled how it logs industrial designs:

• The Universal Catalogue: Bahrain's IP office now officially uses WIPO's standardised Locarno Classification system, which divides all products into 32 broad classes and over 200 subclasses.
  

• Cross-Border Searchability: Because Bahrain is now synced up, if someone searches international databases (like WIPO's Global Design Database), Bahraini design patents and registrations will appear seamlessly alongside filings from the US, the EU, and other member nations.
  

• Fewer Bureaucratic Hurdles: Foreign companies filing international design portfolios can now use the same classification codes and product descriptions they use elsewhere, minimising the risk of local rejection or classification errors.

Feature written by Kushraj Singh, Senior Legal Correspondent, The Global IP Magazine.

Email Kushraj: newsdesk@northonsprmarketing.com