A practice manual for renewing design rights held through a Hague international registration. Hague's principal advantage is that there is a single point of payment: however many contracting parties are designated, you renew at WIPO on a five-year cycle and nothing is payable to individual national offices. In exchange, two axes must be tracked — the renewal clock of the international registration, and the term limit that differs from one designated country to the next.
1. At a glance
- System type
- Five-year renewal cycle
- Anchor date
- International registration date
- Due date rule
- The due date itself Early payments deemed received 3 months before
- Paid to
- WIPO only No national payments in designated states
- Grace period
- 6 months Surcharge is 50% of the basic fee only — no surcharge on designation fees
- Term limit
- Set by each designated country's law Minimum 15 years under the 1999 Geneva Act
- Partial renewal
- Free, by design and by contracting party
- Reduction
- None
- Risk level
- Normal
2. Anchor date and due-date calculation
The anchor is the international registration date, with a renewal point every five years thereafter. The fee falls due on that date itself.
Worked example
For an international registration dated 2022-09-01 the renewal cycle runs as follows.
| Renewal | Period covered | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| 1st renewal | Years 6-10 | 2027-09-01 |
| 2nd renewal | Years 11-15 | 2032-09-01 |
| 3rd renewal | Years 16-20 | 2037-09-01 |
| 4th renewal | Years 21-25 | 2042-09-01 |
3. When payments begin, and to whom
- The first five years are covered by the international registration; renewal is required from year 6.
- Payment is made to WIPO alone. No renewal fees are payable to the offices of designated countries.
- Renewal is filed through eHague; there is no prescribed form and no need to appoint a representative.
- A payment arriving before the due date is deemed received three months before that date.
4. Grace period and surcharge
There is a six-month grace period. The surcharge is structured differently from most systems, and is commonly over-estimated in quotations.
5. Lapse
If the registration is not renewed before the grace period expires, it simply ends unrenewed. No separate restoration mechanism has been identified, so the grace period is effectively the last line of defence.
6. Fee structure
The renewal fee is the basic fee plus the fees for each designated country.
| Item | Amount (CHF) |
|---|---|
| Basic fee | 200 |
| Each additional design | 17 |
| Standard designation fee (per country) | 21 |
| Standard designation fee — each additional design | 1 |
| Individual designation fee | Set per country (check that country's rate) |
| Late-payment surcharge | 50% of the basic fee = 100 |
7. Partial renewal
This is Hague's most useful renewal feature. You may renew selectively by design and by contracting party, including keeping a different set of designs alive in different countries.
- Dropping unused designs, or countries where the business has ended, reduces the renewal fee accordingly.
- A designated country in which invalidity or surrender has been recorded cannot be renewed.
- A designated country where a refusal is under challenge can be renewed by attaching a statement.
- Partial renewal decisions cannot be undone, so confirm with the client before finalising.
8. Term extension
Designs have no equivalent of pharmaceutical term extension. The only way to extend protection under Hague is renewal, and the ceiling is set by each designated country's national law.
9. Management checklist
Fields to populate first
- International registration date. The entire renewal cycle is calculated from it.
- The list of designated countries and each one's term limit. How many renewals are meaningful differs by country.
- The number of designs, since fees are charged per additional design on top of the basic fee.
- Whether each designated country charges a standard or an individual designation fee.
- Any designated country where invalidity or surrender has been recorded, as it drops out of the renewal.
Renewal cycle
- Begin three months before the due date; payments from that point take the rate applicable on the date of payment.
- While confirming maintenance instructions, decide with the client which designs and which countries to keep.
- Calculate the fee for the scope retained. Presenting it as basic fee plus additional designs plus designation fees makes the partial-renewal decision easier.
- Pay through eHague. No representative is required, so the procedure itself is straightforward.
- For cases in the grace period, add 50% of the basic fee only — do not calculate on the total.
Easily confused points
- Nothing is payable to the offices of designated countries. Do not create national renewal schedules.
- The grace surcharge attaches to the basic fee, not to the total.
- Renewal standard designation fees have none of the Level bands used at the application stage.
- Other changes, such as a change of ownership, cannot be recorded during the grace period.
Sources, cut-off date and disclaimer
This manual is based on iphere's August 2026 survey of country-by-country overseas maintenance rules, together with values produced by the deadline engine that runs on those same rules. Official fees and deadline rules change by office notice, so please confirm against the official source and your local agent before any actual payment or filing.