Source: https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/s2909.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 15:26:34+00:00

Document:
(3) [Other Possible Contents of the International Application] The international application may contain or be accompanied by such other elements as are specified in the Regulations.
(4) [Several Industrial Designs in the Same International Application] Subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, an international application may include two or more industrial designs.
(5) [Request for Deferred Publication] The international application may contain a request for deferment of publication.
(1) [Form and Signature] The international application shall be presented on the official form. The international application shall be signed by the applicant.
(2) [Fees] The prescribed fees applicable to the international application shall be paid as provided for in Rules 27 and 28.
(a) With respect to Contracting Parties designated under the 1999 Act in an international application, that application shall contain, in addition to the indications referred to in paragraph (3)(iii), the indication of the applicant’s Contracting Party.
(b) Where a Contracting Party designated under the 1999 Act has notified the Director General, in accordance with Article 5(2)(a) of the 1999 Act, that its law requires one or more of the elements referred to in Article 5(2)(b) of the 1999 Act, the international application shall contain such element or elements, as prescribed in Rule 11.
(c) Where Rule 8 applies, the international application shall, as applicable, contain the indications referred to in paragraphs (2) or (3) thereof and be accompanied by any relevant statement, document, oath or declaration referred to in that Rule.
(a) An element referred to in item (i) or (ii) of Article 5(2)(b) of the 1999 Act or in Article 8(4)(a) of the 1960 Act may, at the option of the applicant, be included in the international application even where that element is not required in consequence of a notification in accordance with Article 5(2)(a) of the 1999 Act or in consequence of a requirement under Article 8(4)(a) of the 1960 Act.
(b) Where the applicant has a representative, the international application shall state the name and address of the representative, given in accordance with the Administrative Instructions.
(c) Where the applicant wishes, under Article 4 of the Paris Convention, to take advantage of the priority of an earlier filing, the international application shall contain a declaration claiming the priority of that earlier filing, together with an indication of the name of the Office where such filing was made and of the date and, where available, the number of that filing and, where the priority claim relates to less than all the industrial designs contained in the international application, the indication of those industrial designs to which the priority claim relates or does not relate.
(d) Where the applicant wishes to take advantage of Article 11 of the Paris Convention, the international application shall contain a declaration 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 application are concerned, the indication of those industrial designs to which the declaration relates or does not relate.
(e) Where the applicant wishes that publication of the industrial design be deferred, the international application shall contain a request for deferment of publication.
(f) The international application may also contain any declaration, statement or other relevant indication as may be specified in the Administrative Instructions.
(g) The international application may be accompanied by a statement that identifies information known by the applicant to be material to the eligibility for protection of the industrial design concerned.
(6) [No Additional Matter] If the international application contains any matter other than that required or permitted by the 1999 Act, the 1960 Act, these Regulations or the Administrative Instructions, the International Bureau shall delete it ex officio. If the international application is accompanied by any document other than those required or permitted, the International Bureau may dispose of the said document.
(7) [All Products to Be in Same Class] All the products which constitute the industrial designs to which an international application relates, or in relation to which the industrial designs are to be used, shall belong to the same class of the International Classification.
35 U.S.C. 383 International design application.
(7) any other particulars prescribed in the Regulations.
37 CFR 1.1021 Contents of the international design application.
(10) An indication of applicant’s Contracting Party as required under Rule 7(4)(a).
(b) Additional mandatory contents required by certain Contracting Parties.
(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)).
(9) A proposed translation of any text matter contained in the international design application for purposes of recording and publication (Rule 6(4)).
The elements of an international design application fall into three categories: (1) mandatory contents; (2) additional mandatory contents; and (3) optional contents.
Mandatory contents are those items required in all international design applications. Such contents are set forth in Article 5(1) and Rule 7 of the Hague Agreement and 37 CFR 1.1021(a). Specifically, the international design application must be in English, French, or Spanish, it must be presented on the official form (see MPEP § 2909.01) and signed by the applicant, and it must include: (1) a request for international registration under the Hague Agreement; (2) the prescribed data concerning the applicant; (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 (where the industrial design is two-dimensional and a request for deferment of publication is made in accordance with Article 5(5) of the Hague Agreement, the international design application may, instead of containing reproductions, be accompanied by the prescribed number of specimens of the industrial design); (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; (5) an indication of the designated Contracting Parties; (6) the prescribed fees; (7) the Contracting Party or Parties in respect of which the applicant fulfills the conditions to be the holder of an international registration; (8) the number of industrial designs included in the international application, which may not exceed 100, and the number of reproductions or specimens of the industrial designs accompanying the international application; (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; and (10) an indication of applicant’s Contracting Party as required under Rule 7(4)(a).
Additional mandatory contents are elements that are required by certain Contracting Parties and therefore are mandatory in any international design application that designates such Contracting Parties (see Article 5(2) and Rule 7 of the Hague Agreement and 37 CFR 1.1021(b)). Such additional mandatory contents may consist of, pursuant to Article 5(2) of the Hague Agreement, indications concerning the identity of the creator, a brief description of the reproduction or of the characteristic features of the industrial design, (iii) a claim, and/or, pursuant to Rule 8(1) of the Hague Agreement, a statement, document, oath, or declaration.
Optional contents are items that may be included in an international design application. Optional contents are addressed in Rule 7(5) of the Hague Agreement and 37 CFR 1.1021(c) and may include: (1) two or more industrial designs, subject to the prescribed conditions; (2) a request for deferment of publication or a request for immediate publication; (3) any of the additional mandatory elements discussed above, even if such elements are not required by any Contracting Party designated in the international design application; (4) the name and address of applicant’s representative, as prescribed; (5) a claim of priority of one or more earlier filed applications; (6) a declaration, for purposes of Article 11 of the Paris Convention, that the product or products that 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 application are concerned, the indication of those industrial designs to which the declaration relates or does not relate; (7) any declaration, statement, or other relevant indication as may be specified in the Administrative Instructions; (8) a statement that identifies information known by the applicant to be material to the eligibility for protection of the industrial design concerned; and (9) a proposed translation of any text matter contained in the international application for purposes of recording and publication.
As set forth in 37 CFR 1.1021(d), in addition to the mandatory requirements otherwise required for international design applications, an international design application designating the United States must also include: (1) a claim (37 CFR 1.1021(b)(1)(iii) and 37 CFR 1.1025); (2) indications concerning the identity of the creator (i.e., the inventor, see 37 CFR 1.9(d)) in accordance with Rule 11(1); and (3) the inventor’s oath or declaration (37 CFR 1.63 and 1.64).
A claim is a filing date requirement for design applications in the United States. See 35 U.S.C. 171. The United States has declared, pursuant to Article 5(2), that an international design application designating the United States must contain a claim. See MPEP § 2903. Consequently, an international design application designating the United States that does not contain a claim will not be registered by the International Bureau in the international register and thus will not be entitled to a filing date in the United States. See MPEP §§ 2907 and 2908. In such case, the International Bureau will invite the applicant to submit the claim within a prescribed time limit and will accord a date of international registration as of the date of receipt of the claim (assuming there are no other defects). Failure to timely submit the claim in response to the invitation by the International Bureau will result in the application being deemed not to contain the designation of the United States. See Article 8(2)(b).
Pursuant to Rule 8(1), the United States has declared that an international design application designating the United States must contain an oath or declaration of the creator and indications concerning the identity of the creator. See MPEP § 2903. The requirements for the inventor’s oath or declaration are set forth in 37 CFR 1.63 and 1.64. 37 CFR 1.1021(d) further provides that the requirements in 37 CFR 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 37 CFR 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. If the inventor’s oath or declaration has not been filed, the International Bureau will invite the applicant to submit the inventor’s oath or declaration within a prescribed time limit. Failure to timely submit the inventor’s oath or declaration in response to the invitation by the International Bureau will result in the application being deemed not to contain the designation of the United States. See Article 8(2)(b).
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 reproductions pursuant to Rule 7(5)(a) describing the view or views of the reproductions. See 37 CFR 1.1024. The Office encourages applicants filing international design applications that designate the United States to include a brief description in the application describing the views of the reproductions, as such description is helpful for examination and may, in some cases, help avoid issues concerning the scope of the claimed design or sufficiency of disclosure. Furthermore, a description of the view or views of the reproductions may be required by the Office in a nonprovisional international design application, as defined by 37 CFR 1.9(a)(3), pursuant to 37 CFR 1.1067. See MPEP § 2920.04(a), subsection II.
An international design application designating the United States may not contain a request for deferment of publication. See 37 CFR 1.1028. In addition, specimens are not permitted in international design applications designating the United States. See 37 CFR 1.1027.
(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.
The international design application must be presented on the “official form.” Pursuant to Hague Agreement Rule 1(vi), “official form” means a form established by the International Bureau or an electronic interface made available by the International Bureau on the website of the Organization, or any form or electronic interface having the same contents and format. The form established by the International Bureau for filing an international design application is the form DM/1, “Application for International Registration”. The DM/1 form and instructions for completing the form are currently available on the website of the International Bureau at www.wipo.int/hague/en/forms/.
Proper usage of the DM/1 form will help ensure that the mandatory, additional mandatory and optional content items for an international design application are present upon filing. Form DM/1 provides applicant with specific spaces to set forth: (1) information concerning the applicant; (2) a correspondence address for the International Bureau where there are multiple applicants and no appointed representative; (3) applicant’s entitlement to file an international design application; (4) applicant’s Contracting Party; (5) the appointed representative; (6) information concerning the creator; (7) the number of industrial designs and reproductions included in the application; (8) the applicable product and Locarno classification (MPEP § 907); (9) a brief description; (10) a claim; (11) the designated Contracting Parties; (12) any priority claim; (13) information regarding any international exhibition where any of the designs was shown; (14) a request for immediate or deferred publication; and (15) the signature of the applicant or the applicant’s representative. The DM/1 form also includes a “Payment of Fees” section that allows the applicant to identity the method of payment and to instruct the International Bureau to debit the required fees to a current account established with the International Bureau.
(a) Reproductions of the industrial design shall, at the option of the applicant, be in the form of photographs or other graphic representations of the industrial design itself or of the product or products which constitute the industrial design. The same product may be shown from different angles; views from different angles shall be included in different photographs or other graphic representations.
(a) Subject to subparagraph (b), any Contracting Party bound by the 1999 Act which requires certain specified views of the product or products which constitute the industrial design or in relation to which the industrial design is to be used shall, in a declaration, so notify the Director General, specifying the views that are required and the circumstances in which they are required.
(4) [Refusal on Grounds Relating to the Reproductions of the Industrial Design] A Contracting Party may not refuse the effects of the international registration on the ground that requirements relating to the form of the reproductions of the industrial design that are additional to, or different from, those notified by that Contracting Party in accordance with paragraph (3)(a) have not been satisfied under its law. A Contracting Party may however refuse the effects of the international registration on the ground that the reproductions contained in the international registration are not sufficient to disclose fully the industrial design.
(a) One and the same international application may comprise both photographs and other graphic representations, in black and white or in color.
(b) Each reproduction accompanying an international application shall be submitted in a single copy.
(c) The photographs or other graphic representations accompanying an international application filed on paper shall be either pasted or printed directly onto a separate sheet of A4 paper which is white and opaque. The separate sheet of paper shall be used upright and shall not contain more than 25 reproductions.
(d) The reproductions accompanying an international application must be arranged in the orientation in which the applicant wishes them to be published. Where that application is filed on paper, a margin of at least 5 millimeters should be left around the representation of each industrial design.
(e) Each reproduction must fall within a right-angled quadrilateral containing no other reproduction or part of another reproduction and no numbering. The photographs or other graphic representations shall not be folded, stapled or marked in any way.
(a) The photographs and other graphic representations shall represent the industrial design alone, or the product in relation to which the industrial design is to be used, to the exclusion of any other object, accessory, person or animal.
(b) The dimensions of the representation of each industrial design appearing in a photograph or other graphic representation may not exceed 16 x 16 centimeters, and in respect of at least one representation of each design, one of those dimensions must be at least 3 centimeters. With respect to the filing of international applications by electronic means, the International Bureau may establish a data format, the particulars of which shall be published on the web site of the Organization, to ensure compliance with these maximum and minimum dimensions.
(ii) explanatory text or legends in the representation.
(ii) by means of dotted or broken lines or coloring.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 402(a), matter that does not form part of the industrial design or the product in relation to which the industrial design is to be used may be shown in a reproduction if it is indicated in accordance with paragraph (a).
(a) The photographs supplied must be of professional standard and have all the edges cut at right angles. The industrial design must be shown against a neutral plain background. Photographs retouched with ink or correcting fluid shall not be allowed.
(b) Graphic representations must be of professional standard produced with drawing instruments or by electronic means and, where the application is filed on paper, must further be produced on good quality white, opaque paper, all of whose edges are cut at right angles. The industrial design represented may comprise shading and hatching to provide relief. Graphic representations executed by electronic means may be shown against a background, provided that it is neutral and plain and has only edges cut at right angles.
(a) The numbering stipulated for multiple international applications shall appear in the margin of each photograph or other graphic representation. When the same industrial design is represented from different angles, the numbering shall consist of two separate figures separated by a dot (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc. for the first design, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc. for the second design, and so on).
(b) The reproductions shall be submitted in ascending numerical order.
(c) Legends to indicate a specific view of the product (e.g., “front view”, “top view”, etc.) may be indicated in association with the numbering of the reproduction.
Reproductions in international design applications must comply with the requirements of Hague Agreement Rule 9 and Part Four of the Administrative Instructions. See 37 CFR 1.1026.
Pursuant to Rule 9, the reproductions of the industrial design shall, at the option of the applicant, be in the form of photographs or other graphic representations of the industrial design itself or of the product or products which constitute the industrial design. The same product may be shown from different angles; views from different angles shall be included in different photographs or other graphic representations. Pursuant to Administrative Instruction 401, only a single copy of each reproduction should be submitted.
The reproductions must be of a quality permitting all the details of the industrial design to be clearly distinguished and permitting publication. See Rule 9(2). The reproductions should represent the industrial design alone, or the product in relation to which the industrial design is to be used, without any other object, accessory, person, or animal. However, the reproduction may show matter for which protection is not sought if such matter is indicated as provided for in Administrative Instruction 403.
Pursuant to Rule 9(3)(a), a Contracting Party may require certain specified views of the product or products which constitute the industrial design or in relation to which the industrial design is to be used, if the Contracting Party has appropriately notified the International Bureau of the required views and the circumstances under which they are required. Information concerning specified views required by a Contracting Party pursuant to Rule 9(3)(a) is set forth in the section “Specific Requirements Concerning Views” of WIPO form DM/1.INF, “How to file an international application” currently available at WIPO’s website at www.wipo.int/hague/en/forms/.
Additional formal requirements for the reproductions (e.g., margins, paper, backgrounds, etc.) are set forth in the Administrative Instructions. In addition, technical requirements regarding image files, such as resolution, minimum and maximum image size, border width, etc., are set forth on the website of the International Bureau at www.wipo.int/ hague/en/how_to/file/ prepare.html. Reproductions may be filed through the USPTO as an office of indirect filing via EFS-Web as PDF or JPEG files in accordance with the EFS-Web Legal Framework. See MPEP §§ 502.05 and 2909.02(a).
Reproductions of industrial designs are required in international design applications and may be submitted as drawings, photographs, or a combination thereof, and may be in black and white or in color. See Rule 9 and Part Four of the Administrative Instructions for the Application of the Hague Agreement. Reproductions may be submitted through EFS-Web as PDF or JPEG files as set forth below. Technical requirements regarding image files, such as resolution, minimum and maximum image size, border width, etc., are also set forth on the website of the International Bureau at www.wipo.int/hague/en/how_to/file/ prepare.html.
Reproductions may be submitted as single page PDF or JPEG files by attaching the file(s) using the “Attach Reproductions” section of the “Attach Documents” screen. Alternatively, applicants may attach reproductions as PDFs (including multi-page PDFs) using the “Attach Documents other than Reproductions” section of the “Attach Documents” screen. Attaching compliant reproductions via the “Attach Reproductions” section, rather than the “Attach Documents other than Reproductions” section, may help to avoid incurring additional per page publication fees that might otherwise be required by the International Bureau. Each image file attached through the “Attach Reproductions” section should contain only one view of the design. The “Attach Reproductions” section will prompt the user to assign a design and view number to each file attached under this section.
In accordance with the technical requirements set forth by the International Bureau, EFS-Web will not permit submission of any PDF or JPEG file via the “Attach Reproductions” section that exceeds a file size of two megabytes. For JPEG submissions, EFS-Web will provide warnings where requirements pertaining to image resolution and minimum and maximum dimensions have not been satisfied; EFS-Web does not check color mode or border size for JPEG images. For PDF submissions via the “Attach Reproductions” section, EFS-Web will not permit submission of any PDF file that is more than one page. In addition, EFS-Web does not check color mode, border size, resolution, or maximum or minimum dimensions of the reproduction (other than certain minimum and maximum page size dimensions) for PDF images. It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that reproductions satisfy all applicable requirements.
Users attaching reproductions under either the “Attach Reproductions” section or the “Attach Documents other than Reproductions” section should use the document description “drawings – only black and white line drawings” or “drawing – other than black and white line drawings”, as appropriate. EFS-Web will provide a warning to users about the possibility of incurring additional per page publication fees where reproductions are attached via the “Attach Documents other than Reproductions” section. EFS-Web will also provide a warning to users where a new international design application does not contain an indication that at least one reproduction is attached. See MPEP § 502.05 for additional information on using EFS-Web.
Annexes to the DM/1 form are used to provide certain required or optional items relevant to a particular designated Contracting Party. Annex forms specific to particular Contracting Parties are currently available on the website of the International Bureau at www.wipo.int/hague/en/forms/.
Annex forms specific to the designation of the United States include annexes for submitting the inventor’s oath or declaration, an information disclosure statement, and a certification of micro entity status.

References: § 2909
 § 2903
 § 2903
 § 2920
 § 907
 § 502