(a) Article as used in this subpart means an article of the Hague Agreement;

(b) Regulations as used in this subpart, when capitalized, means the “Common Regulations Under the 1999 Act and the 1960 Act of the Hague Agreement”;

(c) Rule as used in this subpart, when capitalized, means one of the Regulations;

(d) Administrative Instructions as used in this subpart means the Administrative Instructions referred to in Rule 34;

(e) 1960 Act as used in this subpart means the Act signed at the Hague on November 28, 1960, of the Hague Agreement;

(f) Other terms and expressions in subpart I not defined in this section are as defined in Article 1, Rule 1, and 35 U.S.C. 381.

(a) The United States Patent and Trademark Office, as an office of indirect filing, shall accept international design applications where the applicant's Contracting Party is the United States.

(b) The major functions of the United States Patent and Trademark Office as an office of indirect filing include:

(1) Receiving and according a receipt date to international design applications;

(2) Collecting and, when required, transmitting fees due for processing international design applications;

(3) Determining compliance with applicable requirements of part 5 of this chapter; and

(4) Transmitting an international design application to the International Bureau, unless prescriptions concerning national security prevent the application from being transmitted.

(a) The United States Patent and Trademark Office will act as a designated office (“United States Designated Office”) for international design applications in which the United States has been designated as a Contracting Party in which protection is sought.

(b) The major functions of the United States Designated Office include:

(1) Accepting for national examination international design applications which satisfy the requirements of the Hague Agreement, the Regulations, and the regulations;

(2) Performing an examination of the international design application in accordance with 35 U.S.C. chapter 16; and

(3) Communicating the results of examination to the International Bureau.

(a) The International Bureau is the World Intellectual Property Organization located at Geneva, Switzerland. It is the international intergovernmental organization which acts as the coordinating body under the Hague Agreement and the Regulations.

(b) The major functions of the International Bureau include:

(1) Receiving international design applications directly from applicants and indirectly from an office of indirect filing;

(2) Collecting required fees and crediting designation fees to the accounts of the Contracting Parties concerned;

(3) Reviewing international design applications for compliance with prescribed formal requirements;

(4) Translating international design applications into the required languages for recordation and publication;

(5) Registering international designs in the International Register where the international design application complies with the applicable requirements;

(6) Publishing international registrations in the International Designs Bulletin; and

(7) Sending copies of the publication of the international registration to each designated office.

(a) Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the collection of information in this subpart has been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0651-0075.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays a currently valid Office of Management and Budget control number. This section constitutes the display required by 44 U.S.C. 3512(a) and 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(i) for the collection of information under Office of Management and Budget control number 0651-0075 (see 5 CFR 1320.5(b)(2)(ii)(D)).

(a) Only persons who are nationals of the United States or who have a domicile, a habitual residence, or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in the territory of the United States may file international design applications through the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

(b) Although the United States Patent and Trademark Office will accept international design applications filed by any person referred to in paragraph (a) of this section, an international design application designating the United States may be refused by the Office as a designated office if the applicant is not a person qualified under 35 U.S.C. chapter 11 to be an applicant.

In order to file an international design application through the United States Patent and Trademark Office as an office of indirect filing, the United States must be applicant's Contracting Party (Articles 4 and 1(xiv)).

(a) Mandatory contents. The international design application shall be in English, French, or Spanish (Rule 6(1)) and shall contain or be accompanied by:

(1) A request for international registration under the Hague Agreement (Article 5(1)(i));

(2) The prescribed data concerning the applicant (Article 5(1)(ii) and Rule 7(3)(i) and (ii));

(3) The prescribed number of copies of a reproduction or, at the choice of the applicant, of several different reproductions of the industrial design that is the subject of the international design application, presented in the prescribed manner; however, where the industrial design is two-dimensional and a request for deferment of publication is made in accordance with Article 5(5), the international design application may, instead of containing reproductions, be accompanied by the prescribed number of specimens of the industrial design (Article 5(1)(iii));

(4) An indication of the product or products that constitute the industrial design or in relation to which the industrial design is to be used, as prescribed (Article 5(1)(iv) and Rule 7(3)(iv));

(5) An indication of the designated Contracting Parties (Article 5(1)(v));

(6) The prescribed fees (Article 5(1)(vi) and Rule 12(1));

(7) The Contracting Party or Parties in respect of which the applicant fulfills the conditions to be the holder of an international registration (Rule 7(3)(iii));

(8) The number of industrial designs included in the international design application, which may not exceed 100, and the number of reproductions or specimens of the industrial designs accompanying the international design application (Rule 7(3)(v));

(9) The amount of the fees being paid and the method of payment, or instructions to debit the required amount of fees to an account opened with the International Bureau, and the identification of the party effecting the payment or giving the instructions (Rule 7(3)(vii)); and

(10) An indication of applicant's Contracting Party as required under Rule 7(4)(a).

(b) Additional mandatory contents required by certain Contracting Parties. (1) Where the international design application contains the designation of a Contracting Party that requires, pursuant to Article 5(2), any of the following elements, then the international design application shall contain such required element(s):

(i) Indications concerning the identity of the creator of the industrial design that is the subject of that application (Rule 11(1));

(ii) A brief description of the reproduction or of the characteristic features of the industrial design that is the subject of that application (Rule 11(2));

(iii) A claim (Rule 11(3)).

(2) Where the international design application contains the designation of a Contracting Party that has made a declaration under Rule 8(1), then the international application shall contain the statement, document, oath or declaration specified in that declaration (Rule 7(4)(c)).

(c) Optional contents. The international design application may contain:

(1) Two or more industrial designs, subject to the prescribed conditions (Article 5(4) and Rule 7(7));

(2) A request for deferment of publication (Article 5(5) and Rule 7(5)(e)) or a request for immediate publication (Rule 17);

(3) An element referred to in item (i) or (ii) of Article 5(2)(b) of the Hague Agreement or in Article 8(4)(a) of the 1960 Act even where that element is not required in consequence of a notification in accordance with Article 5(2)(a) of the Hague Agreement or in consequence of a requirement under Article 8(4)(a) of the 1960 Act (Rule 7(5)(a));

(4) The name and address of applicant's representative, as prescribed (Rule 7(5)(b));

(5) A claim of priority of one or more earlier filed applications in accordance with Article 6 and Rule 7(5)(c);

(6) A declaration, for purposes of Article 11 of the Paris Convention, that the product or products which constitute the industrial design or in which the industrial design is incorporated have been shown at an official or officially recognized international exhibition, together with the place where the exhibition was held and the date on which the product or products were first exhibited there and, where less than all the industrial designs contained in the international design application are concerned, the indication of those industrial designs to which the declaration relates or does not relate (Rule 7(5)(d));

(7) Any declaration, statement or other relevant indication as may be specified in the Administrative Instructions (Rule 7(5)(f));

(8) A statement that identifies information known by the applicant to be material to the eligibility for protection of the industrial design concerned (Rule 7(5)(g));

(9) A proposed translation of any text matter contained in the international design application for purposes of recording and publication (Rule 6(4)).

(d) Required contents where the United States is designated. In addition to the mandatory requirements set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, an international design application that designates the United States shall contain or be accompanied by:

(1) A claim (§§ 1.1021(b)(1)(iii) and 1.1025);

(2) Indications concerning the identity of the creator (i.e., the inventor, see § 1.9(d)) in accordance with Rule 11(1); and

(3) The inventor's oath or declaration (§§ 1.63 and 1.64). The requirements in §§ 1.63(b) and 1.64(b)(4) to identify each inventor by his or her legal name, mailing address, and residence, if an inventor lives at a location which is different from the mailing address, and the requirement in § 1.64(b)(2) to identify the residence and mailing address of the person signing the substitute statement will be considered satisfied by the presentation of such information in the international design application prior to international registration.

(a) The international design application shall be presented on the official form (Rules 7(1) and 1(vi)).

(b) The international design application shall be signed by the applicant.

(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this section, the filing date of an international design application in the United States is the date of international registration determined by the International Bureau under the Hague Agreement (35 U.S.C. 384 and 381(a)(5)).

(b) Where the applicant believes the international design application is entitled under the Hague Agreement to a filing date in the United States other than the date of international registration, the applicant may petition the Director under this paragraph to accord the international design application a filing date in the United States other than the date of international registration. Such petition must be accompanied by the fee set forth in § 1.17(f) and include a showing to the satisfaction of the Director that the international design application is entitled to such filing date.

An international design application designating the United States must include a specification as prescribed by 35 U.S.C. 112 and preferably include a brief description of the reproduction pursuant to Rule 7(5)(a) describing the view or views of the reproductions.

The specific wording of the claim in an international design application designating the United States shall be in formal terms to the ornamental design for the article (specifying name of article) as shown, or as shown and described. More than one claim is neither required nor permitted for purposes of the United States.

Reproductions shall comply with the requirements of Rule 9 and Part Four of the Administrative Instructions.

Where a request for deferment of publication has been filed in respect of a two-dimensional industrial design, the international design application may include specimens of the design in accordance with Rule 10 and Part Four of the Administrative Instructions. Specimens are not permitted in an international design application that designates the United States or any other Contracting Party which does not permit deferment of publication.

The international design application may contain a request for deferment of publication, provided the application does not designate the United States or any other Contracting Party which does not permit deferment of publication.

(a) International design applications filed through the Office as an office of indirect filing are subject to payment of a transmittal fee (35 U.S.C. 382(b) and Article 4(2)) in the amount of:

(b) The Schedule of Fees annexed to the Regulations (Rule 27(1)), a list of individual designation fee amounts, and a fee calculator may be viewed on the Web site of the World Intellectual Property Organization, currently available at http://www.wipo.int/hague.

(c) The following fees required by the International Bureau may be paid either directly to the International Bureau or through the Office as an office of indirect filing in the amounts specified on the World Intellectual Property Organization Web site described in paragraph (b) of this section:

(1) International application fees (Rule 12(1)); and

(2) Fee for descriptions exceeding 100 words (Rule 11(2)).

(d) The fees referred to in paragraph (c) of this section may be paid as follows:

(1) Directly to the International Bureau in Swiss currency (see Administrative Instruction 801); or

(2) Through the Office as an office of indirect filing, provided such fees are paid no later than the date of payment of the transmittal fee required under paragraph (a) of this section. Any payment through the Office must be in U.S. dollars. Applicants paying the fees in paragraph (c) of this section through the Office may be subject to a requirement by the International Bureau to pay additional amounts where the conversion from U.S. dollars to Swiss currency results in the International Bureau receiving less than the prescribed amounts.

(e) Payment of the fees referred to in Article 17 and Rule 24 for renewing an international registration (“renewal fees”) is not required to maintain a U.S. patent issuing on an international design application in force. Renewal fees, if required, must be submitted directly to the International Bureau. Any renewal fee submitted to the Office will not be transmitted to the International Bureau.

(f) The designation fee for the United States shall consist of:

(1) A first part established in Swiss currency pursuant to Hague Rule 28 based on the combined amounts of the basic filing fee (§ 1.16(b)), search fee (§ 1.16(l)), and examination fee (§ 1.16(p)) for a design application. The first part is payable at the time of filing the international design application; and

(2) A second part (issue fee) as provided in § 1.18(b). The second part is payable within the period specified in a notice of allowance (§ 1.311).

(a) The applicant may appoint a representative before the International Bureau in accordance with Rule 3.

(b) Applicants of international design applications may be represented before the Office as an office of indirect filing by a practitioner registered (§ 11.6) or granted limited recognition (§ 11.9(a) or (b)) to practice before the Office in patent matters. Such practitioner may act pursuant to § 1.34 or pursuant to appointment by the applicant. The appointment must be in writing signed by the applicant, must give the practitioner power to act on behalf of the applicant, and must specify the name and registration number or limited recognition number of each practitioner. An appointment of a representative made in the international design application pursuant to Rule 3(2) that complies with the requirements of this paragraph will be effective as an appointment before the Office as an office of indirect filing.

The applicant may specify a correspondence address for correspondence sent by the Office as an office of indirect filing. Where no such address has been specified, the Office will use as the correspondence address the address of applicant's appointed representative (§ 1.1041) or, where no representative is appointed, the address as specified in Administrative Instruction 302.

(a) Subject to paragraph (b) of this section and payment of the transmittal fee set forth in § 1.1031(a), transmittal of the international design application to the International Bureau shall be made by the Office as provided by Rule 13(1). At the same time as it transmits the international design application to the International Bureau, the Office shall notify the International Bureau of the date on which it received the application. The Office shall also notify the applicant of the date on which it received the application and of the transmittal of the international design application to the International Bureau.

(b) No copy of an international design application may be transmitted to the International Bureau, a foreign designated office, or other foreign authority by the Office or the applicant, unless the applicable requirements of part 5 of this chapter have been satisfied.

(c) Once transmittal of the international design application has been effected under paragraph (a) of this section, except for matters properly before the United States Patent and Trademark Office as an office of indirect filing or as a designated office, all further correspondence concerning the application should be sent directly to the International Bureau. The United States Patent and Trademark Office will generally not forward communications to the International Bureau received after transmittal of the application to the International Bureau. Any reply to an invitation sent to the applicant by the International Bureau must be filed directly with the International Bureau, and not with the Office, to avoid abandonment or other loss of rights under Article 8.

(a) If the delay in an applicant's failure to act within prescribed time limits under the Hague Agreement in connection with requirements pertaining to an international design application was unintentional, a petition may be filed pursuant to this section to excuse the failure to act as to the United States. A grantable petition pursuant to this section must be accompanied by:

(1) A copy of any invitation sent from the International Bureau setting a prescribed time limit for which applicant failed to timely act;

(2) The reply required under paragraph (c) of this section, unless previously filed;

(3) The fee as set forth in § 1.17(m);

(4) A certified copy of the originally filed international design application, unless a copy of the international design application was previously communicated to the Office from the International Bureau or the international design application was filed with the Office as an office of indirect filing, and a translation thereof into the English language if it was filed in another language;

(5) A statement that the entire delay in filing the required reply from the due date for the reply until the filing of a grantable petition pursuant to this paragraph was unintentional. The Director may require additional information where there is a question whether the delay was unintentional; and

(6) A terminal disclaimer (and fee as set forth in § 1.20(d)) required pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section.

(b) Any request for reconsideration or review of a decision refusing to excuse the applicant's failure to act within prescribed time limits in connection with requirements pertaining to an international design application upon petition filed pursuant to this section, to be considered timely, must be filed within two months of the decision refusing to excuse or within such time as set in the decision. Unless a decision indicates otherwise, this time period may be extended under the provisions of § 1.136.

(c) Reply. The reply required may be:

(1) The filing of a continuing application. If the international design application has not been subject to international registration, the reply must also include a grantable petition under § 1.1023(b) to accord the international design application a filing date; or

(2) A grantable petition under § 1.1052, where the international design application was filed with the Office as an office of indirect filing.

(d) Terminal disclaimer. Any petition pursuant to this section must be accompanied by a terminal disclaimer and fee as set forth in § 1.321 dedicating to the public a terminal part of the term of any patent granted thereon equivalent to the period beginning on the due date for the reply for which applicant failed to timely act and ending on the date of filing of the reply required under paragraph (c) of this section and must also apply to any patent granted on a continuing design application that contains a specific reference under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, 365(c) or 386(c) to the application for which relief under this section is sought.

(a) An international design application designating the United States filed with the Office as an office of indirect filing and meeting the requirements under § 1.53(b) for a filing date for an application for a design patent may, on petition under this section, be converted to an application for a design patent under § 1.53(b) and accorded a filing date as provided therein. A petition under this section must be accompanied by the fee set forth in § 1.17(t) and be filed prior to publication of the international registration under Article 10(3). The conversion of an international design application to an application for a design patent under § 1.53(b) will not entitle applicant to a refund of the transmittal fee or any fee forwarded to the International Bureau, or the application of any such fee toward the filing fee, or any other fee, for the application for a design patent under § 1.53(b). The application for a design patent resulting from conversion of an international design application must also include the basic filing fee (§ 1.16(b)), the search fee (§ 1.16(l)), the examination fee (§ 1.16(p)), the inventor's oath or declaration (§ 1.63 or 1.64), and a surcharge if required by § 1.16(f).

(b) An international design application will be converted to an application for a design patent under § 1.53(b) if a decision on petition under this section is granted prior to transmittal of the international design application to the International Bureau pursuant to § 1.1045. Otherwise, a decision granting a petition under this section will be effective to convert the international design application to an application for a design patent under § 1.53(b) only for purposes of the designation of the United States.

(c) A petition under this section will not be granted in an abandoned international design application absent a grantable petition under § 1.1051.

(d) An international design application converted under this section is subject to the regulations applicable to a design application filed under 35 U.S.C. chapter 16.

(a) The rules relating to applications for patents for other inventions or discoveries are also applicable to international design applications designating the United States, except as otherwise provided in this chapter or required by the Articles or Regulations.

(b) The provisions of § 1.74, § 1.84, except for § 1.84(c), and §§ 1.152 through 1.154 shall not apply to international design applications.

(a) Examination. The Office shall make an examination pursuant to title 35, United States Code, of an international design application designating the United States.

(b) Timing. For each international design application to be examined under paragraph (a) of this section, the Office shall, subject to Rule 18(1)(c)(ii), send to the International Bureau within 12 months from the publication of the international registration under Rule 26(3) a notification of refusal (§ 1.1063) where it appears that the applicant is not entitled to a patent under the law with respect to any industrial design that is the subject of the international registration.

(a) A notification of refusal shall contain or indicate:

(1) The number of the international registration;

(2) The grounds on which the refusal is based;

(3) A copy of a reproduction of the earlier industrial design and information concerning the earlier industrial design, where the grounds of refusal refer to similarity with an industrial design that is the subject of an earlier application or registration;

(4) Where the refusal does not relate to all the industrial designs that are the subject of the international registration, those to which it relates or does not relate; and

(5) A time period for reply under §§ 1.134 and 1.136, where a reply to the notification of refusal is required.

(b) Any reply to the notification of refusal must be filed directly with the Office and not through the International Bureau. The requirements of § 1.111 shall apply to a reply to a notification of refusal.

(a) Only one independent and distinct design may be claimed in a nonprovisional international design application.

(b) If the requirements under paragraph (a) of this section are not satisfied, the examiner shall in the notification of refusal or other Office action require the applicant in the reply to that action to elect one independent and distinct design for which prosecution on the merits shall be restricted. Such requirement will normally be made before any action on the merits but may be made at any time before the final action. Review of any such requirement is provided under §§ 1.143 and 1.144.

(a) The effects of any correction in the International Register by the International Bureau pursuant to Rule 22 in a pending nonprovisional international design application shall be decided by the Office in accordance with the merits of each situation, subject to such other requirements as may be imposed. A patent issuing from an international design application may only be corrected in accordance with the provisions of title 35, United States Code, for correcting patents. Any correction under Rule 22 recorded by the International Bureau with respect to an abandoned nonprovisional international design application will generally not be acted upon by the Office and shall not be given effect unless otherwise indicated by the Office.

(b) A recording of a partial change in ownership in the International Register pursuant to Rule 21(7) concerning a transfer of less than all designs shall not have effect in the United States.

(a) Unless the correspondence address is changed in accordance with § 1.33(a), the Office will use as the correspondence address in a nonprovisional international design application the address according to the following order:

(1) The correspondence address under § 1.1042;

(2) The address of applicant's representative identified in the publication of the international registration; and

(3) The address of the applicant identified in the publication of the international registration.

(b) Reference in the rules to the correspondence address set forth in § 1.33(a) shall be construed to include a reference to this section for a nonprovisional international design application.

(a) The title of the design must designate the particular article. Where a nonprovisional international design application does not contain a title of the design, the Office may establish a title. No description, other than a reference to the drawing, is ordinarily required in a nonprovisional international design application.

(b) An international design application designating the United States must include the inventor's oath or declaration. See § 1.1021(d). If the applicant is notified in a notice of allowability that an oath or declaration in compliance with § 1.63, or substitute statement in compliance with § 1.64, executed by or with respect to each named inventor has not been filed, the applicant must file each required oath or declaration in compliance with § 1.63, or substitute statement in compliance with § 1.64, no later than the date on which the issue fee is paid to avoid abandonment. This time period is not extendable under § 1.136 (see § 1.136(c)).

Upon issuance of a patent on an international design application designating the United States, the Office may send to the International Bureau a statement to the effect that protection is granted in the United States to those industrial design or designs that are the subject of the international registration and covered by the patent.

(a) Where a design patent that was granted from an international design application is invalidated in the United States, and the invalidation is no longer subject to any review or appeal, the patentee shall inform the Office.

(b) After receiving a notification of invalidation under paragraph (a) of this section or through other means, the Office will notify the International Bureau in accordance with Hague Rule 20.

A grant of protection for an industrial design that is the subject of an international registration shall only arise in the United States through the issuance of a patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. 389(d) or 171, and in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 153.