What is the Hague Agreement?

The Hague Agreement is an international system through which industrial designs can be protected in multiple countries or regions through only a single design filing.

Industrial design applications made under the Hague Agreement are filed with the World Intellectual Property Office. A formalities check is conducted to confirm that the application details and the format of the images forming part of the registered design filing meet the basic formal requirements required by each of the contracting parties designated in the application.

If any of the designated offices also require a substantive examination (e.g., the EU, UK and US do not), the application is forwarded to the relevant local official office to conduct the substantive examination. The designated offices cannot object on formal grounds.

Any substantive objections are forwarded to the applicant’s agent and the applicant is given an opportunity to comment or amend the application documents as necessary.

If no objections are made, the application is registered as separate design applications in each of the designated states.