(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.