Hague System

The Hague System for the

International Registration
of Industrial Designs
Main Features and Advantages

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Contents

Introduction 3
Who May Use the Hague System? 4
Where Can Protection Be Obtained? 4
The International Application 5
Filing the International Application 7
What Are the Effects of the International Registration? 10
Duration of Protection 10
Changes in the International Register 11
What Are the Advantages of Using the Hague System? 11
Further Information About the Hague System 12

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Introduction

1. The Hague Agreement provides a mechanism for acquiring, maintaining

and managing design rights in countries and intergovernmental organiza-
tions that are members of the Hague Union through a single international
application filed with the International Bureau of the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) that results in a single international regis-
tration with individual effect in each of the Contracting Parties (States or
intergovernmental organizations) designated therein.

2. Thus, the Hague Agreement allows users to save time and money by
enabling them to easily and swiftly acquire design protection in multiple
markets, as a single international application replaces a whole series of ap-
plications which, otherwise, should have been effected with different national
(or regional) Offices.

3. The Hague Agreement is constituted by two international treaties:

• The Geneva Act of July 2, 1999 (the “1999 Act”);
• The Hague Act of November 28, 1960 (the “1960 Act”).

4. The 1999 and the 1960 Acts of the Hague Agreement are autonomous and
totally independent of each other. In recent years, membership to the 1999 Act
has overtaken that of the 1960 Act (a list of the Contracting Parties, together with
an indication of the respective dates on which they became bound by the 1999
Act or the 1960 Act is available on the WIPO website (www.wipo.int/hague/en)).

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Who May Use the Hague System?

5. The possibility of filing an international application under the Hague

Agreement is not open to everyone. To be entitled to file such an application,
an applicant must satisfy at least one of the following conditions:
a. be a national of a Contracting Party or a member
State of an intergovernmental organization which is a
Contracting Party, such as the European Union or the
African Intellectual Property Organization, or
b. have a domicile in the territory of a Contracting Party, or
c. have a real and effective industrial or commercial
establishment in the territory of a Contracting Party.

6. In addition, but only under the 1999 Act, an international application

may be filed on the basis of habitual residence in a Contracting Party.

7. The Contracting Party with respect to which the applicant fulfils the
above condition is referred to as the “State of origin” under the 1960 Act and
the “applicant’s Contracting Party” under the 1999 Act.

Where Can Protection Be Obtained?

8. Protection can be obtained only in those Contracting Parties which are

party to the same Act as the Contracting Party through which the applicant
has the necessary entitlement (i.e., nationality, domicile, habitual residence or
establishment). For example, if an applicant has claimed entitlement through
a Contracting Party bound exclusively by the 1999 Act, he may request protec-
tion in those Contracting Parties which are bound by the 1999 Act (whether
or not they are also bound by the 1960 Act). On the other hand, such applicant
is not entitled to request protection in respect of Contracting Parties bound
only by the 1960 Act.

9. The Hague System cannot be used to protect an industrial design in a

country which is not party to the Hague Agreement, or which is not a member
State of an intergovernmental organization party to the Hague Agreement.
In order to protect a design in such a country, the applicant has no choice
but to file a national (or regional) application.

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 Hague System

10. If an intergovernmental organization party to the Hague Agreement is

designated in an international application, the protection covers the terri-
tories of all its member States.

The International Application

Standard Contents of the Application

11. The international application must be filed in English, French or Spanish

(at the applicant’s option) and electronically through the electronic filing
interface (E-filing) available on the WIPO website (wipo.int/hague/en) or on
the official form (available on the WIPO website). No prior national or regional
application or registration is required.

12. An international application may include up to 100 different designs.

All designs must, however, belong to the same class of the International
Classification for Industrial Designs (the Locarno Classification).

13. It must, in particular, contain a reproduction of the industrial designs

concerned, together with the designation of the Contracting Parties where
protection is sought.

14. The applicant may request that publication of the designs be deferred for
a period which cannot exceed 12 months (under the 1960 Act) or 30 months
(under the 1999 Act) from the filing date or, where priority is claimed, from
the priority date.

15. An international application is subject to the payment of three types of

fees (in Swiss francs), namely:
• a basic fee;
• a publication fee;
• for each designated Contracting Party, either a standard fee or an
individual fee.

16. A schedule of fees, as well as an automatic fee calculator, is available on

the WIPO website (www.wipo.int/hague/en/fees).

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Hague System

Specific Contents Required by Certain

Contracting Parties and Information Relevant
to Each of Contracting Parties

17. The declarations made by certain Contracting Parties to the 1999 Act
may also have an impact on the elements included and choices made in an
international application that designates them. At times, considerations
relating to their substantive law may also need to be borne in mind.

18. When using the E-filing interface to file an international application, users
will be automatically informed by the System of the specific requirements set
by a given designated Contracting Party. Alternatively, the following links
may prove useful:
• Member Pages – These give access to the list of declarations made
by each Contracting Party to the Hague System and certain
information concerning their national/regional procedures
(http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/members/index.html)
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) – To get more
specific information on the designation of Contracting
Parties (http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/faqs.html)
• Guidance on Preparing and Providing Reproductions in Order
to Forestall Possible Refusals on the Ground of Insufficient
Disclosure of an Industrial Design by Examining Offices – To
prepare reproductions of the design in view of the designation
of certain Contracting Parties (http://www.wipo.int/export/
sites/www/hague/en/how_to/pdf/guidance.pdf)

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Filing the International Application

19. The E-filing interface on WIPO’s website will remind applicants to take
into account the following considerations.

20. Direct or Indirect filing:

a. Direct filing with the International Bureau:
• the applicant is recommended to check if the law of the
applicant’s Contracting Party requires security clearance
procedures to be carried by national Office, which can entail
indirect filing;
b. Indirect filing (through the Office of the
applicant’s Contracting Party):
• Indirect filing is admitted, if the applicant’s Contracting Party
has not notified the International Bureau that international
applications may not be filed through its Office;
• If indirect filing is allowed, the Office of a Contracting Party
may require that the applicant pay a transmittal fee to it, for
its own benefit, in respect of any international application filed
through it.

21. In the case of direct filing, the international application may be filed, at
the option of the applicant, either online (E-filing) or on paper:
a. E-filing is easier, cheaper and faster method to file international
application thanks to its simplicity and modern features.
A specially developed E-filing tutorial is designed to assist
the applicant to use the E-filing Portfolio Manager
(www.wipo.int/hague/en/how_to/efiling _tutorial/index.html);
b. In case of paper application, the applicant shall fill in the
application form (www.wipo.int/hague/en/forms) and send it by
mail or by facsimile. Submission by email is not accepted.

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Formal Examination by the International Bureau

22. Upon receipt of an international application, the International Bureau

checks that it complies with the prescribed formal requirements, such as
those relating to the quality of the reproductions of the industrial designs
and the payment of the required fees. The applicant is informed of any defects,
which must be corrected within the prescribed time limit of three months,
failing which the international application is considered abandoned.

23. Where an international application complies with the prescribed for-

mal requirements, the International Bureau proceeds with its recording in
the International Register and with the publication of the corresponding
registration in the International Designs Bulletin. The publication takes
place six months after the international registration date, unless the appli-
cant requested immediate publication or deferment of publication in the
international application. The publication takes place electronically on the
WIPO website and contains all relevant data concerning the international
registration, including a reproduction of the industrial design.

24. The International Bureau does not appraise or concern itself in any
way with the novelty of the design and it is therefore not entitled to reject
an international application on this, or any other, substantive ground (sub-
stantive examination falls within the exclusive competence of the Office of
each designated Contracting Party).

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Substantive Examination by the Office of Each

Designated Contracting Party: Possibility
of Notifying a Refusal of Protection

25. Upon publication of the Bulletin on the WIPO website, each Office must
identify the international registrations in which it has been designated, in
order to proceed with the substantive examination provided by its domestic
legislation, if any. In fact, one of the main features of the Hague System lies in
the possibility for the Office of each designated Contracting Party to refuse
protection, in its territory, to an industrial design which does not fulfil the
substantive conditions of protection provided for by its domestic legislation.
Such refusal, however, may not be issued on the grounds of non-compliance
with formal requirements, since such requirements are to be considered
as already been satisfied following the examination carried out by the
International Bureau.

26. Any refusal of protection must be notified to the International Bureau

within six months from the publication of the international registration
on the WIPO website. Under the 1999 Act, however, any Contracting Party
whose Office is an Examining Office, or whose law provides for the possibility
of opposition, may declare that the refusal period of six months is replaced
by a period of 12 months. Any refusal of protection shall have effect only
throughout the territory of the Contracting Party whose Office has issued
such a refusal.

27. In the event of a refusal, the applicant has the same remedies as he
would have had if he had filed the design in question directly with the Office
which has issued the refusal. The ensuing procedure takes place solely at the
national level; an appeal against a refusal must be submitted by the holder
to the competent authority of the country concerned, within the time-limit
and in accordance with the conditions set out in the corresponding domestic
legislation. The International Bureau is not involved in such procedure.

28. A refusal may be withdrawn, totally or partially. Such a withdrawal may

also take the form of a statement to the effect that protection is granted to
the industrial designs, or some of the industrial designs, that are the subject
of the international registration.

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29. On the other hand, where an Office finds no grounds for refusing protection,
it may, before the expiry of the applicable refusal period, issue a statement
of grant of protection.

What Are the Effects of the

International Registration?

30. If no refusal is notified by a given designated Contracting Party within

the prescribed time limit (or if such refusal has subsequently been withdrawn),
the international registration has the effect as a grant of protection in that
Contracting Party, under the law of that Contracting Party.

31. It must therefore be stressed that the Hague System is merely an agreement
for international procedure. Any substantive aspect of the protection is entirely
a matter for the domestic legislation of each designated Contracting Party.

Duration of Protection

32. International registrations are affected for an initial period of five years.
They may be renewed for an additional period of five years. In respect of each
designated Contracting Party, the minimum duration of protection shall be
at least 15 years, subject to renewal, and up to the expiry of the total term of
protection allowed by those Contracting Parties’ respective laws.

33. Requests for renewals must be presented to the International Bureau,

along with the payment of the corresponding renewal fees. International
registrations may be renewed electronically through the electronic renewal
interface (E-renewal) available on the WIPO website (www.wipo.int/hague/en).
Renewals may be made for all or some of the industrial designs included
in the international registration and for all or some of the designated
Contracting Parties.

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 Hague System

Changes in the International Register

34. The following changes, which may affect an international registration,

may be recorded in the International Register:
a. change in name and address of the holder;
b. change in the ownership of the international registration (in
respect of all or some of the designated Contracting Parties
and/or in respect of all or some of the industrial designs);
c. renunciation of all the industrial designs, in respect of
any or all of the designated Contracting Parties; and
d. limitation of some only of the industrial designs, in respect
of any or all of the designated Contracting Parties.

35. A request for the recording of such changes must be presented to the
International Bureau on the relevant official form and must be accompanied
by the prescribed fees. Information concerning such changes is recorded in
the International Register and is published in the Bulletin for the information
of third parties.

What Are the Advantages

of Using the Hague System?

36. The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs
arose from a need for simplicity and economy. In effect, it enables design
owners from a Contracting Party to obtain protection for their designs with
a minimum of formalities and expense. In particular, they are relieved of
the need to make a separate national application in each of the Contracting
Parties, in which they seek protection, thus avoiding the complications arising
from procedures and languages which differ from one State to another.

37. The Hague System also avoids the need for constant monitoring of the
deadline for renewal of a whole series of national registrations, varying from
one State to the other. In addition, it avoids the need to pay a series of fees in
various currencies.

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Hague System

38. In effect, under the Hague Agreement, by means of a single international

application, made in one language, on payment of a single set of fees, in one
currency (Swiss francs) and with one Office (the International Bureau), the
applicant receives a bundle of national rights.

39. Moreover, by having a single international registration with effect in

several Contracting Parties, the subsequent management of the international
registration is considerably facilitated. For instance, a change in the name
or address of the holder, or a change in ownership for only some or all of the
designated Contracting Parties, can be recorded in the International Register
and have effect by means of one simple procedural step carried out through
the International Bureau.

Further Information about the Hague System

40. Additional information and tools concerning the Hague System for the
International Registration of Industrial Designs are available on the WIPO
website (www.wipo.int/hague/en/).

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