A design portfolio spread across the EU, the Hague System and Latin American offices runs on several clocks at once. EU designs and Hague registrations renew every five years, Brazil starts with ten, Argentina allows only two renewals, and Chile and the Andean countries grant a single term with no renewal. Global IP portfolio management for designs means putting all of that into one calendar, one owner record and one budget, so nothing lapses by accident and nothing is renewed that no longer earns its keep. This guide is for in-house teams and founders who hold designs in more than one country.
Key takeaways
- EU design renewals cost EUR 150, 250, 400 and 700 per design for the four renewal periods, with a 25% surcharge if paid in the six-month grace period.
- Hague registrations last five years from registration, renewable at least twice; late renewal adds 50% of the basic fee.
- Terms differ sharply in Latin America: 25 years in Brazil, 15 in Argentina and Chile, 10 in Colombia and Peru.
- Offices’ reminders are a courtesy: missing one does not stop a right from expiring.
Why do design renewals get missed?
Renewals rarely fail for lack of money. They fail because the dates do not line up. Each system counts from a different event: the EU from the filing date, the Hague System from the date of international registration, Brazil and Argentina from filing. Windows open at different times, surcharges differ, and some offices charge per design while others charge per registration.
Reminders do not solve this. Under Article 66(2) of Regulation (EU) 2026/715, the EUIPO informs the holder at least six months before expiry, but a failure to do so does not affect the expiry. WIPO sends notices about six months ahead, as its Hague System FAQs explain, but the responsibility stays with the holder. And reminders go to the address on the register, which is often out of date after a restructuring.
Design renewal calendar by system
The table sets out the rules a centralised calendar has to track. Sources are linked in the text and listed at the end.
| System | Term | When to renew | Late payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU design (EUIPO) | 5 years from filing, renewable to 25 (Art. 13) | In the 6 months before expiry (Art. 66(3)) | Further 6 months, 25% surcharge |
| Hague international registration (WIPO) | 5 years from registration; at least 15, up to each country’s maximum (25 for the EU, Brazil, Mexico and Spain) | Before expiry; WIPO advises paying no earlier than 3 months ahead | 6-month grace period, 50% of the basic fee |
| Spain (OEPM) | 5 years from filing, renewable to 25 | In the 6 months before expiry | 25% in the first 3 months, 50% in the next 3 |
| Portugal (INPI) | Up to 25 years, renewed every 5 | By quinquennium, per product | 50% surcharge |
| Brazil (INPI) | 10 years from filing, plus three 5-year periods (Art. 108, Law 9,279/1996) | During the last year of validity | 180 days after expiry, additional fee |
| Argentina (INPI) | 5 years from filing, plus two 5-year periods (15 maximum) | In the 6 months before expiry | 6 months after, with surcharge |
| Chile (INAPI) | 15 years from filing, not renewable | No renewal | Not applicable |
| Colombia and Peru (Andean Decision 486) | 10 years from filing (Art. 128) | No renewal provided in the Decision | Not applicable |
Two consequences follow. In Chile, Colombia and Peru, the end date is fixed on the day you file, so the commercial plan must assume the right will end. And because Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay are not parties to the Hague Agreement according to WIPO Lex, those rights sit outside any single WIPO renewal and must be tracked office by office.
How much does it cost to keep a design portfolio alive?
Filing fees are visible at launch; renewals arrive years later and grow. For an EU design, Annex I of the Regulation sets renewal fees per design, so a portfolio of ten EU designs costs EUR 1,500 at the first renewal and EUR 7,000 at the fourth, in official fees alone. Over a full 25-year life, each EU design costs EUR 1,500 in renewals, more than four times the EUR 350 filing fee.
The structure of the filing changes the bill. At the OEPM, one renewal fee of EUR 85.54 online in 2026 covers a registration of up to ten designs (OEPM 2026 fees). In the Hague System, the renewal of an international registration costs a basic fee of CHF 200 for one design and CHF 17 for each additional design, plus a fee for each designated party, under the WIPO schedule of fees in force on 1 July 2026; for the EU, that individual renewal fee is EUR 62 per design under Annex I.
Both systems allow partial renewal. In an EU multiple registration, the request names the designs to be renewed (Article 66(4)); at WIPO, you can renew for as many or as few countries and designs as you choose. That is where most savings lie: designs that are no longer sold, or markets the company has left, do not need to be renewed.
How does global IP portfolio management work for designs?
In practice, a centralised model rests on four elements.
- A single docket. For every right: office, number, filing and registration dates, expiry, window opening, end of grace period, owner of record, local representative and the products and markets it covers.
- An annual review. Once a year, marketing, product and legal teams decide which designs to renew, let lapse or extend to new markets. Letting a right lapse should be a decision, not an accident.
- A clean chain of title. Assignments and licences must be recorded at each office; at the EUIPO, recording a licence costs EUR 200 per design, up to EUR 1,000 per request (Annex I). An unrecorded transfer complicates renewals and enforcement.
- A multi-year budget. Renewal costs rise with each EU period and arrive in waves after launch years. Forecasting them avoids last-minute cuts.
The Hague System can consolidate renewals for its members, including the EU, Brazil and Mexico, but not for the Latin American countries outside it. Argentina, for example, is managed through its national office, where the INPI explains that renewals are filed in the six months before expiry or, with a surcharge, in the six months after.
What this means for your business
- Build or audit the docket now, starting with rights expiring in the next 18 months.
- Check the owner and address on every register, especially after mergers or relocations.
- Decide renewal policy by product line, not by office.
- For new launches, choose filing structures that ease later renewals: Hague where it covers the markets, national filings where it does not.
- Plan for fixed-term countries such as Chile, Colombia and Peru, where protection cannot be extended.
If your designs are already spread over several offices, our industrial design portfolio management team for the EU, the Hague System and Latin America can take over the calendar and consolidate it with one point of contact.
Where companies get this wrong
- Relying on office reminders. They are not binding, and they go to whatever address is on the register.
- Paying in the grace period as routine. A 25% or 50% surcharge on every renewal is avoidable cost.
- Renewing everything by default, including designs for products discontinued years ago.
- Forgetting fixed terms, then discovering in year ten that a Colombian or Peruvian design cannot be renewed.
- Leaving transfers unrecorded, so the renewal is filed, or the infringement action brought, by an owner who is not on the register.
Each of these problems comes from fragmentation: several advisers, several calendars, no single view. A coordinated portfolio removes them.
Frequently asked questions
How often must an EU design be renewed and what does it cost?
Every five years, up to a maximum of 25 years from filing. The official renewal fees are EUR 150, 250, 400 and 700 per design for the first to fourth renewal periods. The request can be filed in the six months before expiry, or in the following six months with a surcharge of 25% of the renewal fee.
Can I renew a Hague registration for only some countries or designs?
Yes. WIPO allows renewal for as many or as few designated contracting parties and designs as the holder chooses. The renewal fee combines a basic fee, CHF 200 for one design in the schedule in force on 1 July 2026, with a fee for each party, so dropping markets reduces the cost.
What happens if I miss a design renewal deadline?
Most systems give a six-month grace period with a surcharge: 25% at the EUIPO, 50% of the basic fee at WIPO, 25% or 50% at the OEPM depending on timing, and 180 days with an additional fee in Brazil. After that, the right lapses, and restoring it is exceptional and not always possible.
Can IP Global Guard manage our design renewals across several countries?
Yes. We consolidate EU, Hague and national rights into a single calendar, confirm owners of record, propose what to renew or drop, and file renewals before the EUIPO directly where our professionals are entitled and otherwise through qualified representatives, coordinating local correspondents in Latin America and Africa.
One calendar for your whole design portfolio
Design rights are only as strong as their renewal record. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages portfolios with one strategy, one point of contact and one billing relationship across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa; see our coverage across the corridor.
Send us your current list of designs, with numbers and offices, or simply the products and markets that matter. We will build the renewal calendar, flag what expires in the next 18 months and propose what to keep. Ask our team for a portfolio review.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and official fees and terms should be checked before each renewal.
Sources
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2026/715 on European Union designs, Articles 13 and 66 and Annex I (30 March 2026)
- WIPO, Hague System schedule of fees (in force on 1 July 2026)
- WIPO, Hague System FAQs: duration and renewal
- WIPO, Hague System declarations: maximum duration of protection (August 2025)
- WIPO Lex, Hague Agreement contracting parties (database)
- OEPM, Industrial design fees 2026
- BOE, Law 20/2003 on the legal protection of industrial design, Articles 43 and 44
- Justiça.gov.pt (INPI Portugal), Apply for the registration of a design
- INPI Portugal, fee tables (Deliberation 447/2024)
- Presidency of Brazil, Law No. 9,279 of 14 May 1996, Article 108
- INPI Argentina, Industrial models and designs: FAQs
- INAPI Chile, Industrial designs
- Andean Community, Decision 486 on a Common Industrial Property Regime (14 September 2000)
