What is Hague System?

The Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs (the Hague Agreement) is the basis of the Hague System. The Hague Agreement was established in 1925 in Hague, the third largest city in the Netherlands and has undergone several amendments, the Hague Act 1960 and the Geneva Act 1999 are currently in used. According to the “Hague Agreement”, applicants within a Contracting Party may submit an international application to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to obtain a design patent protection in multiple designated “Contracting Parties” countries or intergovernmental organizations. The establishment of this international registration system for industrial designs is called the "Hague System".

How many countries is covered by the Hague Agreement?

The Hague Act (1960) covered 32 countries; the Geneva Act (1999) covers 64 countries including 2 intergovernmental organizations. The Geneva Act includes the most used countries such as Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Canada etc.

Requirements to submit an international design through the Hague System

To submit a Hague System international design application, the applicants must meet at least one of the following requirements:-

1. Have an actual and effective industrial or commercial establishment in at least one of the Contracting Parties of the Hague Agreement;
2. Have domicile or habitual residence in at least one of the contracting parties of the Hague Agreement; and
3. Must be a national of a member state of either a Contracting Party or an intergovernmental organization of a Contracting Party.

Where to file an international design application?

The international design application can be filed directly through eHague (http://www.wipo.int/hague/en/e-filing.html) on the WIPO website or through the Office of the applicant’s Contracting Party in any of the following languages: English, French or Spanish.

Hague international design application fee

There are three sets of fees that needs to be  paid when filing through the Hague System, and they are: (1) basic fee, (2) designation fees for each state respectively, and (3) publication fee, and are payable in Swiss Francs.
Please click here for WIPO fee calculator.

Benefits of filing through Hague System

• It enables the applicant to submit one application in one language and in one currency (Swiss Francs) to obtain industrial design protection in multiple countries, which greatly simplifies the application process and cost saving.
• All administration such as application, registration and renewal shall be handled by one agency, the WIPO, which makes it easy to manage foreign applications.
• Applicants can choose when to publish their applications according to their own planning (immediate publication or delaying the publication).

What else should  be aware of about the Hague System?

• An international application may include up to 100 designs, provided that they belong to the same International Classification of Industrial Designs under the Locarno Classification and that the country of designation is the same.
• Some countries have unitary requirements. For example, if the international application designated the United States contains multiple designs, applicant should consider dividing the application.
• If  the applicant wishes to add additional designated state after the application is filed, it may file another application as long as it is 6 months before the priority date.

Certain Contracting Parties have their own special provisions, for more information, please click here.