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OMB Control No: 0651-0075	ICR Reference No: 202402-0651-001
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 202303-0651-014
Agency/Subagency: DOC/PTO	Agency Tracking No:
Title: International Design Applications (Hague Agreement)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 05/07/2024
	Date Received in OIRA: 03/12/2024
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	05/31/2027	36 Months From Approved	05/31/2024
Responses	1,231	0	1,706
Time Burden (Hours)	2,052	0	2,301
Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,708,240	0	3,388,473

Abstract: The Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012 (PLTIA) amends the patent laws to implement the provisions of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs (hereinafter “Hauge Agreement”) in title 1, and the Patent Law Treaty (PLT) in title 2. The Hague Agreement is an international agreement that enables an applicant to file a single international design application which may have the effect of an application for protection for the design(s) in countries and/or intergovernmental organizations that are Parties to the Hague Agreement (the “Contracting Parties”) designated in the applications. The United States is a Contracting Party to the Hague Agreement, which took effect with respect to the United States on May 13, 2015. The Hague Agreement is administrated by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) located in Geneva, Switzerland. Under the Hague Agreement, U.S. applicants could file international design applications in English “indirectly” through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which will forward the applications to the IB or “directly” with the IB. International design applications are subject to the following fees: (1) basic fee; (2) standard designation fee(s); (3) individual designation fee(s); and (4) publication fee. Also, an additional fee is required where the application contain a description that exceeds 100 words. In addition, a transmittal fee is required for international design applications filed through an office of indirect filing. Thus, international design applications filed through the USPTO as an Office of indirect filing are subject to payment of a transmittal fee for processing and forwarding the international design applications to the IB. The fees required by the IB may be paid either directly to the IB or through the USPTO as an office of indirect filing in the amounts specified on the World Intellectual Property Organization Web site. If applicants want to paid the required fees through USPTO as an office of indirect filing, the fees must be paid no later than the date of payment of the transmittal fee. The fees will then be forwarded to the IB. The industrial design or designs will be eligible for protection in all the Contracting Parties designated by applicants. The IB ascertains whether the international design application complies with formal requirements, registers the international design to the international register, and publishes the international registration in the International Designs Bulletin. The international registration contains all of the data of the international application, any reproduction of the international design, date of the international registration, number of the international registration, and the relevant class of the International Classification. The IB will provide a copy of the publication of the international registration to each Contracting party designated by the application. A designated Contracting Party may perform a substantive examination of the design application. The USPTO will perform a substantive examination for patentability of the international design application, as in the case of regular U.S. design applications. The Hague Agreement enables applicants from Contracting Parties to obtain protection of their designs with minimal formalities and expenses in multiple countries and/or regions. The Hague Agreement is administered by the IB, which simplifies the management of an industrial design registration. For example, through the IB, applicants can record changes of their representatives or changes in ownership, and renew their international registration.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 35 USC 1 Name of Law: Public Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012
PL: Pub.L. 112 - 211 3486 Name of Law: Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	88 FR 87754	12/19/2023
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	89 FR 17440	03/11/2024
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	1,231	1,706	-475
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	2,052	2,301	-249
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	3,708,240	3,388,473	319,767

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: Change in Respondents and Hourly Burden due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate The total number of respondents has decreased by 475 due to estimated fluctuations in the number of responses in this information collection. This decrease in the number of respondents and responses results in a decrease of 249 hours in the annual time burden estimates. Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Costs due to Adjustment in Agency Estimate For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the total annual (non-hour) costs will increase by $319,767 from the previous approval. This increase is due to estimated fluctuations in submissions for items that require a fee.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $23,688

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. Yes

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Yes

Agency Contact: Rafael Bacares 571 272-3276 rafael.bacares@uspto.gov

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