International Design Applications (Hague Agreement)
No material or nonsubstantive change to a currently approved collection
No
Regular
06/24/2026
table that charts list comparision
Requested
Previously Approved
05/31/2027
05/31/2027
1,231
1,231
2,052
2,052
8,990,862
8,990,862
The Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA) amends the patent laws to implement the provisions of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs (hereinafter âHauge Agreementâ) in title 1, and the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) in title 2. The Hague Agreement is an international agreement that enables an applicant to file a single international design application which may have the effect of an application for protection for the design(s) in countries and/or intergovernmental organizations that are Parties to the Hague Agreement (the âContracting Partiesâ) designated in the applications. The United States is a Contracting Party to the Hague Agreement, which took effect with respect to the United States on May 13, 2015. The Hague Agreement is administrated by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) located in Geneva, Switzerland.
Under the Hague Agreement, U.S. applicants could file international design applications in English âindirectlyâ through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which will forward the applications to the IB or âdirectlyâ with the IB. International design applications are subject to the following fees: (1) basic fee; (2) standard designation fee(s); (3) individual designation fee(s); and (4) publication fee. Also, an additional fee is required where the application contain a description that exceeds 100 words. In addition, a transmittal fee is required for international design applications filed through an office of indirect filing. Thus, international design applications filed through the USPTO as an Office of indirect filing are subject to payment of a transmittal fee for processing and forwarding the international design applications to the IB. The fees required by the IB may be paid either directly to the IB or through the USPTO as an office of indirect filing in the amounts specified on the World Intellectual Property Organization Web site. If applicants want to paid the required fees through USPTO as an office of indirect filing, the fees must be paid no later than the date of payment of the transmittal fee. The fees will then be forwarded to the IB. The industrial design or designs will be eligible for protection in all the Contracting Parties designated by applicants.
The IB ascertains whether the international design application complies with formal requirements, registers the international design to the international register, and publishes the international registration in the International Designs Bulletin. The international registration contains all of the data of the international application, any reproduction of the international design, date of the international registration, number of the international registration, and the relevant class of the International Classification.
The IB will provide a copy of the publication of the international registration to each Contracting party designated by the application. A designated Contracting Party may perform a substantive examination of the design application. The USPTO will perform a substantive examination for patentability of the international design application, as in the case of regular U.S. design applications.
The Hague Agreement enables applicants from Contracting Parties to obtain protection of their designs with minimal formalities and expenses in multiple countries and/or regions. The Hague Agreement is administered by the IB, which simplifies the management of an industrial design registration. For example, through the IB, applicants can record changes of their representatives or changes in ownership, and renew their international registration.
PL:
Pub.L. 112 - 211 3486
Name of Law: Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs
US Code:
35 USC 1
Name of Law: Public Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Supporting Document(s) Concerning Priority Claim under Article 4 of the Paris Convention