An international industrial design application under the Hague System lets you protect up to 100 designs in up to 99 countries with a single filing at WIPO, in one language and with one set of fees in Swiss francs, and without first filing a national application. WIPO’s basic fee is CHF 397 for one design and CHF 50 for each additional design, plus a publication fee and a designation fee for each territory. This guide is for product companies and in-house teams in Europe, Latin America and Africa deciding whether Hague is the right route for a new collection or product line.
Update (October 2026): El Salvador deposited its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act on 7 July 2026, and the Act enters into force for El Salvador on 7 October 2026, adding a new Central American option to the system. WIPO, Information Notice No. 6/2026.
Key takeaways
- One application covers up to 100 designs, provided they all belong to the same Locarno class.
- No prior national or regional application is required, unlike the Madrid System for trademarks.
- WIPO fees are a basic fee, a publication fee of CHF 17 per reproduction and a standard or individual designation fee per territory.
- Mexico and Brazil are members; Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru are not, so a mixed strategy is often needed in Latin America.
- Each office keeps its own rules: unity of design, deferment limits and 12-month refusal periods vary by country.
What is an international industrial design application under the Hague System?
The Hague System is the international design registration system administered by WIPO (the World Intellectual Property Organization). WIPO describes it as a way to secure up to 100 designs in multiple countries through one international application, filed in one language with one set of fees in one currency (WIPO Hague System Q&A, January 2025). According to its Hague System homepage, the system has 82 members covering 99 countries, because some members are regional organisations such as the European Union and OAPI (the African Intellectual Property Organization).
The result is an international registration recorded by WIPO, which has the effect of a national or regional grant in each territory you designate unless that office refuses it. A refusal in one country does not affect the others. The official languages are English, French and Spanish.
Who can file, and which corridor countries does Hague cover?
You can file if you are a national of a member, or have a domicile, habitual residence or a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment in one. A company established in Spain qualifies through Spain and through the European Union. The WIPO Lex list of contracting parties shows the coverage relevant to the Europe, Latin America and Africa corridor:
| Region | Hague members (in force) | Not members: national filing needed |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | European Union, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, among others | Few gaps; check country by country |
| Latin America and Caribbean | Mexico (since 2020), Brazil (since 2023), Belize, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname | Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and most of Central and South America |
| Africa | OAPI, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Rwanda, Mauritius, among others | South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Algeria |
Where a country is not a member, you file nationally. The Hague application can still serve as the first filing: WIPO confirms that its priority can be claimed within six months.
Filing a Hague application step by step
- Clear the designs. Check novelty and prior rights in your key markets, and confirm that all designs fall in the same Locarno class (the international classification for industrial designs).
- Prepare the reproductions. They define the scope of protection. Some offices require specific views; China, the Republic of Korea and Viet Nam have made declarations to that effect.
- Choose the territories and check each office’s declarations: creator requirements, unity of design, deferment limits and individual fees.
- File through eHague. Brazil, the EU and OAPI, among others, do not allow filing through their own office, so direct filing with WIPO is the norm.
- Pass WIPO’s formal examination. With at least the basic fee paid, it takes around six to eight weeks; irregularities must be corrected within three months.
- Publication. By default WIPO publishes 12 months after registration, unless you ask for immediate publication or a different date.
- Substantive examination by each office. Offices may refuse within six months of publication, or 12 months where they have declared it, as Spain, Mexico and the United States have.
- Renew every five years. Protection lasts at least 15 years and up to each country’s maximum: 25 years in the EU, Spain, Mexico and Brazil, 15 years in OAPI.
How much does an international industrial design application cost?
WIPO fees are set in Swiss francs. These are the international fees published in the Hague schedule of fees:
| Fee | Amount (CHF) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic fee, first design | 397 | Payable on every application |
| Basic fee, each additional design | 50 | Up to 100 designs |
| Publication fee | 17 per reproduction | Plus 150 per extra page if filed on paper |
| Standard designation fee, level one | 42 + 2 per additional design | Depends on the level the country has chosen |
| Standard designation fee, level two | 60 + 20 per additional design | For example Brazil, Germany, Morocco, Tunisia |
| Standard designation fee, level three | 90 + 50 per additional design | For example Ghana, Jamaica, Namibia |
| Individual designation fee | Set by each country | For example the EU, Mexico and OAPI |
As an illustration of WIPO fees only: three designs with four reproductions each cost CHF 497 in basic fees and CHF 204 in publication fees, before any designation fee. Designation fees usually make the difference, so run the WIPO Hague fee calculator with your real list of countries. Official fees exclude professional fees and any local agent needed to answer a refusal.
Hague or country by country: which route fits?
| Factor | Hague international application | National filings |
|---|---|---|
| Filing | One application, one language, one payment | One application per office, often through local agents |
| Coverage | Only Hague members | Any country |
| Multiple designs | Up to 100 per application, same class | Depends on each national law |
| Management | Changes of owner and renewals recorded once at WIPO | Recorded office by office |
| Refusals | Answered locally, usually with a local representative | Answered locally |
In practice, Hague pays off when you target several member territories with the same designs, for example the EU, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Morocco. For one or two countries, or for markets outside the system, national filings remain necessary.
What this means for your business
- Map your markets first and split them into Hague members and national filings.
- Group designs by Locarno class and by the countries that require unity of design, such as Brazil, Mexico and the United States.
- Plan publication. Brazil and Mexico do not allow deferment, and OAPI allows only 12 months; this matters if the launch date is confidential.
- Use the six-month priority period to add non-member countries such as Argentina, Chile or Colombia.
If you need the international and national filings run as one project, our team for international industrial design registration across Europe, Latin America and Africa can prepare the application and coordinate the national filings around it.
Where companies get Hague filings wrong
- Weak reproductions. Formal checks pass at WIPO, but an office can still refuse if the views do not fully disclose the design.
- Mixing classes or unrelated designs. An application must stay within one class, and countries with unity requirements may refuse part of it.
- Missing the six-month priority window for non-member countries, which leaves gaps that a competitor can fill.
- Ignoring country declarations, such as creator requirements in Brazil and Mexico or the oath required by the United States.
- Treating silence as protection before the 6 or 12-month refusal period has run.
These problems usually come from splitting the filing, the national route and local responses between several advisers. One coordinated team keeps the same reproductions, dates and priority claims across every office.
Frequently asked questions
How many designs can one Hague application include?
Up to 100 designs, provided they all belong to the same class of the Locarno Classification. Some countries, including Brazil, Mexico, China and the United States, apply unity of design rules and may refuse part of the registration if the designs are not sufficiently related, so grouping should be planned before filing rather than after a refusal arrives.
Do I need a national design before filing under the Hague System?
No. Unlike the Madrid System for trademarks, the Hague System does not require a prior national or regional application or registration. You can file directly with WIPO through eHague, and you may claim priority from an earlier filing made in the previous six months in any Paris Convention or WTO member.
Can I protect a design in Argentina, Chile or Colombia through Hague?
Not at present, because none of them is a Hague member. You need national applications there. A common approach is to file the Hague application first and then file nationally within six months, claiming its priority, so that all territories share the same priority date for the design.
Can IP Global Guard file a Hague international design application for my company?
Yes. We prepare and coordinate the Hague application, acting before WIPO directly where our professionals are entitled and through qualified representatives otherwise. We coordinate local correspondents for national filings and refusals in Latin America and Africa, so you keep one point of contact for the whole portfolio.
How IP Global Guard can help you protect your designs abroad
A Hague filing is only as strong as the reproductions, the country selection and the national filings that complete it. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, handles designs together with trademarks and patents in more than 25 jurisdictions; see our coverage across Europe, Latin America and Africa.
Tell us which products you are launching, in which countries and when. We will map the Hague and national routes, estimate the official fees and coordinate the filings from a single point of contact. Send us your design list.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and does not replace an assessment of your specific case.
Sources
- WIPO, Hague System homepage (members and coverage)
- WIPO, Hague System: Questions and Answers (January 2025)
- WIPO, How the Hague System works
- WIPO, Hague System schedule of fees
- WIPO, Declarations by contracting parties (August 2025)
- WIPO Lex, Hague Agreement contracting parties
- WIPO, Information Notice No. 6/2026, accession of El Salvador (21 July 2026)
