The Hague System for Protection of International Designs

Among the intellectual property services provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the international registration of designs. Over 68 members, known as Contracting Parties, constitute the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, commonly referred to as the Hague System, through which a single international design patent application can be used for registering up to 100 designs. Generally, two Acts, the 1999 Act and the 1960 Act, constitute this agreement.

An “industrial design” is defined legally as the ornamental or aesthetic aspect of an article. This can be made up of three-dimensional features, such as the shape of the article, or can also include two-dimensional features such as patterns, lines, or color. Like a utility patent, an owner of a registered design patent has the right to prevent others from making, using, or selling an article that embodies their protected design. In order to begin the process of protecting a design, a person or entity may apply to several of the Hague Contracting Parties through a single international design patent application filed with WIPO. To be able to file an international design patent application under the Hague Agreement, a natural persons or legal entities must have a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, or a domicile, in at least one of the Contracting Parties to the Hague Agreement, or must be a national of one of the Contracting Parties (or of a member State of an intergovernmental organization that is a Contracting Party). Under the 1999 Act, an international design patent application can also be filed on the basis of habitual residence in one of the Contracting Parties. The Contracting Party through which one of these requirements is fulfilled is then referred to as the “applicant’s Contracting Party” (under the 1999 Act).

Filing an International Design Application with the Hague System

Prior national application for or registration of a design patent is not required, and application to protect an industrial design can be done through the Hague Agreement to apply for protection at the international level before any other step. To claim priority to an earlier filed application for a design patent, the international application must be filed within six months of that earlier filed application.

A single international application can be a “multiple application” which has several different designs (up to 100). However, this may differ according to which Contracting Party is designated. Also, all designs included in the same application must be monoclass, meaning that they must all belong to the same class of the international classification of Locarno.

The application for patent can be electronically filed directly through the International Bureau or indirectly through, for example, the USPTO, and must contain a reproduction of the design to be protected, and the designation of the Contracting Parties in which the protection is sought. The application must be in English, French, or Spanish.

When the International Bureau receives the application, it will review it to ensure that the appropriate fees have been paid and that all formal requirements have been met. If so, the application will be given a filing date, and the industrial design will be registered and published in the International Register. If the requirements are not fulfilled properly, the applicant will be invited to correct the issues within a time limit.

The applicant may request a deferment of publication, but the period cannot exceed 30 months from the date of filing or from the priority date, if priority is claimed.

Examination of the International Application

Next, the offices of the designated Contracting Parties in the design patent application will then proceed with examination if such examination is required under their laws. If the examination results in a refusal of protection of the design, the office may notify the International Bureau. This notification should occur within six months from the date of the international registration publication (or up to 12 months depending on the particular office’s regulations).

Following this, using the USPTO as an example, the applicant may receive a non-final rejection, a final rejection, or an allowance.  

 

A list of the Contracting Parties can be found at http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/members/

Further information about the Hague Agreement Principles from the MPEP can be found at https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2901.html and further information about fees from the MPEP can be found at https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2910.html

The fee calculator can be found at: http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/fees/calculator.jsp

A comprehensive guide to the Hague System can be found at http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/guide/ and http://www.wipo.int/treaties/en/text.jsp?file_id=285214

The Locarno Classification can be found at http://www.wipo.int/classifications/locarno/en/

PATENT and IP Law Blog

  • CIONCA IP - MC4/1/2023 5:21:45 PM

    UNICOLORS, INC. v. H&M HENNES & MAURITZ L. P. – A Synopsis of a Copyright Infringement Case

    More

  • CIONCA IP - MC1/14/2023 2:21:06 PM

    Broad specification or broad claims in a patent application?

    More

  • CIONCA IP - EC12/23/2022 9:28:33 PM

    Is Mariah Carey the “Queen of Christmas”?

    More

  • CIONCA IP - MC10/7/2022 9:33:56 PM

    Rejection of Invention or Rejection of Patent Claims?

    More

  • CIONCA IP (MC)7/13/2022 5:27:56 PM

    Who is the owner of the trademark? Priority and Senior User Disputes

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)5/6/2022 5:19:00 PM

    Documentarian

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)4/29/2022 4:56:42 PM

    An Apple from the Apple Tree

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)4/22/2022 4:44:26 PM

    Electrochemiluminescence

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)4/8/2022 4:51:08 PM

    Gametime

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (BS)4/1/2022 5:05:16 PM

    Screentime

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)3/25/2022 4:58:23 PM

    Internet Protocol Addresses

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (BS)3/16/2022 5:00:54 PM

    We TINK It Should Be Protected

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)3/4/2022 4:54:18 PM

    Tinker Bell

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)2/25/2022 5:01:34 PM

    Computer Memory

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)2/18/2022 4:22:47 PM

    Machine or Transformation

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)2/11/2022 4:52:28 PM

    Air Force 1

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)1/14/2022 4:52:22 PM

    Fees and more Fees?

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)12/17/2021 4:51:21 PM

    Royalty or Lowborn

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)12/10/2021 5:06:54 PM

    Short-Range Wireless Networks

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)12/3/2021 4:58:39 PM

    TIGHT or TITE

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)11/19/2021 4:57:10 PM

    TAG Your It!

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)11/12/2021 4:56:57 PM

    Medical Patents

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)11/5/2021 4:40:14 PM

    Authentic Army

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)10/29/2021 4:49:28 PM

    Scouting Trademarks

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)10/22/2021 4:10:03 PM

    Free Speech and Trademarks

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)10/15/2021 4:55:32 PM

    DNA of Patents

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)10/8/2021 5:02:03 PM

    Backyard Trademarks

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)10/1/2021 4:58:25 PM

    Take a seat and read about seats

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)9/24/2021 5:15:50 PM

    Let's take a ride on the Segway!

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)9/17/2021 4:57:53 PM

    An Apple off the Apple Tree

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)9/10/2021 4:59:08 PM

    VROOM VROOM VROOM

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)9/3/2021 4:56:24 PM

    On Copyrights of Annotations.

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)8/27/2021 4:55:40 PM

    Rejecting Trademark Contracts

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)8/20/2021 4:42:46 PM

    It's a Bratz Girl, in a Barbie World (Pt. 2)

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)8/13/2021 4:57:49 PM

    Personalized Medication

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)8/6/2021 4:39:04 PM

    It's a Bratz Girl, in a Barbie World

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)7/31/2021 3:21:56 AM

    Ice Cream, You Scream

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)7/23/2021 4:12:50 PM

    Cereal Killer

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)7/16/2021 5:00:45 PM

    Buy me a ring, darling

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)7/7/2021 2:52:33 PM

    Offensiveness vs Free Speech in Trademark Law

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)6/25/2021 4:45:12 PM

    Woof Woof - Trademark Law

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)6/18/2021 5:29:44 PM

    Forum Selection 101

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)6/11/2021 4:23:58 PM

    Willful v Innocent

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)5/17/2021 2:38:30 PM

    Thryv, Inc. v. Click-To-Call Technologies, LP

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)4/23/2021 5:34:02 PM

    Oracle Patent Problems

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)4/5/2021 5:38:23 PM

    Blockchain and the Expanding US Patent Landscape

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (MC)3/24/2021 2:19:11 PM

    Invention and Art Analogy

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (BR)1/19/2021 4:57:54 PM

    QuikTrip West, Inc. v. Weigel Stores, Inc.

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (AP)12/7/2020 4:06:28 PM

    St Jude Medical LLC v Snyders Heart Valve LLC

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SE)12/1/2020 5:07:58 PM

    Allen v. Cooper, Governor of North Carolina

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (JM)10/8/2020 2:57:24 PM

    Royal Crown Company Inc., Dr. Pepper/Seven Up Inc., v The Coca-Cola Company

    More

  • CIONCA IP TEAM (SG)10/6/2020 2:42:35 PM

    Apple, Inc., v. Voip-Pal.com, Inc.: Sanction Orders and Obviousness

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team (SE)9/16/2020 4:21:45 PM

    CIONCA IP Launches New Online Patent Website

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team9/15/2020 5:11:49 PM

    Comparing Apples to Apples: TTAB on In re Horizon Group USA, Inc.

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team9/3/2020 4:30:41 PM

    D2 Holdings v. House of Cards

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team8/31/2020 12:09:17 PM

    Blackbird Tech LLC, DBA Blackbird Technologies, v. Fitbit, Inc., Wahoo Fitness LLC: Obviousness

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team8/11/2020 11:56:24 AM

    Adidas AG v. Nike INC.

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team7/20/2020 7:40:21 PM

    Fitbit Inc. v. Valencell Inc.: Joint Parties in IPR Proceeding

    More

  • CIONCA IP Team7/14/2020 7:51:31 PM

    CIONCA IP Launches New Online Trademark Website

    More

  • CIONCA IP 5/19/2020 7:36:30 PM

    Uber Technologies, Inc. v. X One, Inc.: “Obvious to Try” Rationale

    More

  • Marin Cionca4/15/2020 4:41:43 PM

    The Day After COVID-19 Pandemic – Hope or Fear?

    More

  • CIONCA IP4/13/2020 9:33:36 PM

    Two of a Kind: TTAB on Shannon DeVivo v. Celeste Ortiz

    More

  • CIONCA IP3/16/2020 8:43:10 PM

    GS CleanTech Corporation v. Adkins Energy, LLC: Inequitable Conduct

    More

  • CIONCA IP3/10/2020 7:45:30 PM

    Koninklijke Philips N.V. v. Google LLC, Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Mobile Inc.

    More

  • Marin Cionca2/9/2020 7:46:10 PM

    Analogous Prior Art or Not? A critical patent obviousness question

    More

  • CIONCA IP 1/15/2020 4:47:19 PM

    FOX Factory, Inc. v. SRAM, LLC: Presumption of Nexus

    More

  • CIONCA IP 1/9/2020 4:43:58 PM

    The Bigger Picture: TTAB’s Decision in In re James Haden, M.D., P.A.

    More

  • CIONCA IP 12/31/2019 4:29:41 PM

    The Chamberlain Group, INC. v. One World Technologies, INC.

    More

  • Marin Cionca12/9/2019 8:07:20 PM

    A “glove” approach to patent claim construction

    More

  • 11/15/2019 8:15:11 PM

    Liqwd, Inc. v. L’Oreal USA, Inc.: Objective Indicia and Copying

    More

  • CIONCA IP10/16/2019 1:28:13 PM

    To Use or Not to Use: The Statutory Period of Trademark Nonuse Prior to Presumed Abandonment

    More

  • CIONCA IP10/7/2019 5:44:50 PM

    A Decision in Henny Penny Corporation v. Frymaster LLC

    More

  • Marin Cionca9/27/2019 9:32:48 PM

    Can an Online Patent Attorney File My Patent?

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member9/4/2019 7:20:46 PM

    Guangdong Alison Hi-Tech Co. v. International Trade Commission: Objective Boundaries

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member8/19/2019 7:46:17 PM

    In re Yarnell Ice Cream, LLC: Trademark Descriptiveness and Acquired Distinction

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member8/5/2019 2:29:33 PM

    Is Speculation Enough Evidence for an Appeal?: General Electric Company v. United Technologies Corporation

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member7/5/2019 2:22:42 PM

    In re: Global IP Holdings LLC: Broadening Claims Through Reissue Applications

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member6/27/2019 7:41:52 PM

    Obviousness in a Single Prior Art Instance: Game and Technology Co., LTD., v. Activision Blizzard INC., Riot Games, INC.

    More

  • Marin Cionca6/11/2019 8:43:17 PM

    Can I Successfully License My Invention?

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member5/20/2019 8:25:57 PM

    PTAB Designates Cases as Precedential

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member5/7/2019 7:13:41 PM

    The Federal Circuit Defines a Technological Invention

    More

  • Marin Cionca4/17/2019 3:48:33 PM

    What Qualifies as Proper Use in Commerce Claim in a USPTO Trademark Application?

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member4/3/2019 7:25:37 PM

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Designates Three Decisions Precedential

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member3/21/2019 3:49:43 PM

    Defining Inherency: A Decision in Personal Web Technologies, LLC v. Apple, Inc.

    More

  • Marin Cionca3/1/2019 9:36:50 PM

    USPTO Director Andrei Iancu Visits Orange County!

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member2/19/2019 7:12:46 PM

    Revised Guidance by USPTO on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility and Examining Computer-Implemented Functional Claims

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member2/5/2019 7:22:27 PM

    TiVo Puts Tivoli on Pause: TTAB’s Decision in TiVo Brands LLC v. Tivoli, LLC

    More

  • Marin Cionca1/23/2019 9:45:30 PM

    Patent Law Alert: All Sales of the Invention, Including Secret Sales May Invalidate a Patent

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member1/4/2019 4:12:21 PM

    In re: Tropp: New Matter in a Continuation Can Be Relevant to Written Description Requirement

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member12/18/2018 6:12:48 PM

    Schlafly v. The Saint Louis Brewery: The Registration of Merely a Surname

    More

  • Marin Cionca12/8/2018 8:35:06 PM

    IP Assets - Procurement, Enforcement, Monetization

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member11/19/2018 1:07:51 PM

    The Appeals Process

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member10/16/2018 6:50:31 PM

    A Double-Edged Sword: Benefit of Priority or Longer Patent Term

    More

  • Marin Cionca10/1/2018 7:42:12 PM

    Can I Register a Color as a Trademark or Service Mark?

    More

  • CIONCA Team Member9/17/2018 4:33:20 PM

    Trademarks and Likelihood of Confusion: Federal Circuit’s Decision in In re: Detroit Athletic Co.

    More

  • Staff8/31/2018 7:26:58 PM

    Patent Claim Interpretation By Federal Circuit's on Facebook's Contiguous Image Layout

    More

  • Staff8/16/2018 4:24:01 PM

    Correcting or Changing a Patent After Issue Through the Central Reexamination Unit

    More

  • Marin Cionca7/31/2018 6:50:05 PM

    My patent expired? Can I still sue for patent infringement?

    More

  • 7/3/2018 7:44:33 PM

    Impax Laboratories Inc. v Lannett Holdings Inc. on Claim Invalidation

    More

  • CIONCA IP5/17/2018 9:54:58 PM

    Marin Cionca Presents at OCIPLA May 2018 Luncheon

    More

  • 5/4/2018 7:37:51 PM

    The Hague System for Protection of International Designs

    More

  • CIONCA Staff4/20/2018 5:25:25 PM

    USPTO Changes Examination Procedure Pertaining to Subject Matter Eligibility in View of Berkheimer v. HP, Inc.

    More

  • CIONCA Staff4/13/2018 9:10:04 PM

    It Take Two to Tango: Knowles v. Iancu, a Standing Dispute in a PTAB Decision

    More

  • 3/20/2018 12:50:05 PM

    Andrei Iancu - New Director of the USPTO

    More

  • 3/8/2018 1:25:46 PM

    Proceed with Caution: Consider Carefully when Narrowing Claims for Allowance

    More

  • CIONCA Team2/16/2018 4:07:48 PM

    Fashion and Intellectual Property

    More

  • CIONCA Team1/17/2018 8:12:06 PM

    A Fork in the Road: Production or Protection?

    More

  • 1/2/2018 7:47:09 PM

    The Lanham Act: Disparagement Provision Violates the First Amendment

    More

  • 12/26/2017 6:04:25 PM

    CIONCA Sets Foot in San Francisco

    More

  • 12/1/2017 8:01:27 PM

    An Introduction to Patent Cooperation Treaty Applications

    More

  • 11/17/2017 1:24:20 PM

    An Introduction to Patent Searches

    More

  • 11/10/2017 6:47:44 PM

    An Introduction to Design Patent Applications

    More

  • Staff11/3/2017 4:20:04 PM

    An Introduction to Provisional Patent Applications

    More

  • Staff9/28/2017 7:27:22 PM

    CIONCA

    More

  • staff9/27/2017 5:12:07 PM

    CIONCA - Patent and Trademark Law Attorney

    More

  • staff9/27/2017 5:00:12 PM

    Claim Indefiniteness During Patent Pre-Issuance: Define Your Invention, Not Just Your Audience

    More

  • staff9/15/2017 9:33:30 PM

    cionca

    More

  • CIONCA Staff8/20/2017 3:16:11 PM

    CIONCA on Patents: Think Twice Before Suing for Patent Infringement and Fight Back when Unreasonably Sued

    More

  • CIONCA - Staff8/9/2017 5:39:58 PM

    Patent Case Study: The Novelty Of An “Invention” Is NOT Enough To Make It Patentable

    More

  • CIONCA - Staff6/28/2017 8:26:07 PM

    Patent Law: Conditions Precedent May Expose Method Claim to Broad Interpretation During Prosecution

    More

  • CIONCA - Staff6/15/2017 5:32:14 PM

    Patent Law: Challenging the Patent Claim Definiteness Requirement

    More

  • Marin Cionca4/25/2017 9:48:49 PM

    Monetization of Patents: How to Make Money with Patents

    More

  • Marin Cionca2/21/2017 12:30:52 AM

    Software Patent Law Update: Federal Circuit Finds Graphical User Interface Patentable

    More

  • Marin Cionca9/15/2016 9:47:39 PM

    Patent Law Alert: Federal Circuit Opens Door for More Software Patents

    More

  • Marin Cionca9/6/2016 9:26:12 PM

    Patent Case Law: New Example of Software as Patentable Subject Matter

    More

  • Iris Kim, PhD6/1/2016 7:04:50 PM

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board Designates Five More Decisions as Precedential

    More

  • Marin Cionca5/17/2016 8:57:23 PM

    Patent Claims Rejection Based on Inherency

    More

  • Iris Kim, PhD3/25/2016 8:34:14 PM

    Challenging a Claim’s Validity with Different Standards of Claim Construction

    More

  • I. Kim PhD2/26/2016 8:47:51 PM

    The U.S. Supreme Court Will Review Claim Construction Standards and Institution Decision Reviewability.

    More

  • Marin Cionca2/16/2016 6:34:53 PM

    In IPRs, patentees have to show that substitute patent claims are patentable

    More

  • M. Cionca and I. Kim2/4/2016 5:55:16 PM

    Software Inventions Are Still Patentable!

    More

  • Marin1/28/2016 9:15:16 PM

    The Patent Trial and Appeal Board Designates Two Decisions as Precedential

    More

  • Marin1/28/2016 9:10:56 PM

    How Unpredictability Can Affect Obviousness Challenges

    More

  • Marin11/19/2015 2:13:05 PM

    An Innovator’s Dilemma: Design or Utility Patent?

    More

  • Marin11/18/2015 7:31:35 PM

    When Is a Thesis Prior Art?

    More

  • Marin11/18/2015 6:15:40 PM

    Covered Business Method Claims Are Not Required to Particularly Target Financial Industry

    More

  • Marin11/18/2015 6:11:11 PM

    PTAB Decisions Give Examples of Patent Eligible Subject Matter

    More

Marin Cionca, Esq.

Registered Patent Attorney

USPTO Reg. No. 63899

VERIFY

CONTACT INFO

About CIONCA® IP Law firm: We are an Orange County, CA based boutique intellectual property firm with a focus on patent and trademark application, prosecution, opinion, licensing and IP enforcement services, offering its IP services primarily at flat fee rates. We serve local OC clients, as well as clients throughout US and international clients.

HOME               

Let’s talk!

We’d love to hear from you…we just need a little info
about your plans to take over the world!

P.S…Feel free to call us! (800)985-9198