The Hague System provides a unique international mechanism for securing and managing design rights simultaneously in multiple jurisdictions, including:
...any Hague System member (referred to as “contracting party”), including any country of the European Union (EU) or the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI).
The Hague System provides a straightforward solution to international design protection that eliminates the need to file separate and multiple applications in individual countries or regions. Intellectual property (IP) rights are territorial in character — the domestic laws of each contracting party therefore govern the protection resulting from international registrations.
File one online international application through our eHague platform to register up to 100 designs in more than 90 countries.
Keep your international registration up-to-date, record a change in ownership or limit/renounce protection centrally through WIPO.
Renew your international registration directly through eHague for as many of the designs and as many of the contracting parties as you wish.
benefits for you?
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Minimal paperworkFile one international application with one set of formal requirements and in one language to secure protection for up to 100 designs.
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Cost and time effectiveEnjoy significant time and cost savings thanks to our single application framework. Decide for yourself whether to use legal representation in the international arena.
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Centralized managementManage and renew your registrations directly with WIPO.
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Global coverageProtect your designs in over 90 countries.
eHague is a secure, intuitive, real-time platform that lets you digitally file your international design applications and renew your registrations. You can view and download your applications, make payments and reply to communications from WIPO directly through eHague. Don't worry about which forms you need to fill out, what documents you need to provide or what the costs are. eHague will do this for you.
We publish your international registration in the International Designs Bulletin.
When? Standard publication takes place twelve months after the date of international registration — normally the date on which you filed your application.
You can also request immediate publication or publication at a chosen time (up to 30 months from the filing date, subject to domestic laws), in order to time public disclosure of your designs based on your market needs.
An official publication, released weekly, that contains all data related to new international registrations. It is the official data reference for everyone: holders of international registrations, IP offices and the public at large.
The IP offices of some designated contracting parties may perform further substantive review of your registration in accordance with their own domestic law. For example, are the designs morally acceptable? Note: only a handful of offices perform full examination on novelty (these are called “Examining Offices”).
What if protection is refused? You can contest refusals at the domestic level. Any Office that refuses protection will inform you — through WIPO — of the substantive reasons for, and the procedure to contest, refusal.
If no refusal is issued within six months of publication of an international registration — 12 months for examining offices and those with opposition procedures — protection is deemed to be granted under domestic laws.
How long are international design registrations valid?
The cost of filing an international application varies according to the number of designs covered, the number of reproductions included, the contracting parties you designate, etc. All fees are payable in Swiss francs.
Canada, European Union, Japan, Norway, Russian Federation, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America
European Union, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
Quickly estimate the fees for filing an international application or renewing a registration.
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Our complimentary informational tools and guides make filing an international application even easier for you.
Find out more about the multitude of designs registered under the Hague System and in other data collections.
Browse through the millions of designs that exist under the Hague System and in the collections of participating offices, including China, the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the USA.
Search our weekly updated database of all international registrations.
Access WIPO’s extensive statistical data on designs worldwide.
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