{"id":3025,"date":"2026-04-15T20:55:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/3025\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T20:55:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:55:43","slug":"hague-system-2025-in-review-a-centennial-year-of-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/3025\/","title":{"rendered":"Hague System: 2025 in Review \u2014 A Centennial Year of Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 was a landmark year for the Hague System<\/a>, marking 100 years of international design protection. WIPO celebrated the centenary with a hybrid symposium<\/a> in The Hague, showcasing the System\u2019s evolution into a modern, global mechanism for protecting designs.<\/p>\n

A record year in many aspects, 2025 was also marked by significant modernization, with the Hague Act (1960) frozen and eHague upgraded with new digital tools for faster, more efficient design management.<\/p>\n

\"Calendar
\nImage: Getty\/Filo)<\/p>\n

Celebrating 100 years of design protection<\/p>\n

The 100th anniversary of the Hague System was marked with a series of global events and initiatives:<\/p>\n

\tA hybrid symposium in The Hague with participation from IP Offices of Hague members, users, and stakeholders.
\n\tA commemorative publication<\/a> showcasing the System\u2019s evolution and achievements.
\n\tA short film<\/a> and a global awareness campaign to highlight the Hague System\u2019s impact and modernization.
\n\tPublic engagement and outreach initiatives to increase awareness among SMEs, designers and new audiences worldwide.<\/p>\n

The centenary reinforced the Hague System\u2019s role as a modern, accessible and globally coherent framework for design protection.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Key achievements in 2025<\/p>\n

\tA major structural change was the freeze of the Hague Act (1960), which took effect on January 1, 2025. This marked the first year in which the Hague System operated solely under the Geneva Act (1999), simplifying the legal framework and making international design protection clearer and more accessible for applicants and IP Offices.<\/p>\n

\tAmendments to the Administrative Instructions also entered into force on January 1, 2025. Notably, graphical disclaimers now require a supporting statement in the description, ensuring consistent practice across Offices.
\n\tThe Hague System\u2019s modernization agenda advanced through the work of the Legal Development Working Group, which continued shaping proposals on new digital representation formats, multi-class filings and other procedural updates to keep the System user-friendly and flexible.
\n\tSaudi Arabia and Uzbekistan joined the Hague System, expanding its coverage to 99 countries across 82 members.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Enhancing eHague and digital services<\/p>\n

The eHague platform was improved to make filing and management faster, safer and more efficient:<\/p>\n

\tSecure Messaging and Sharing Transactions enable applicants to communicate directly with examiners and collaborate with multiple users.
\n\tThe International Designs Bulletin (IDB) now features an updated interface and Advanced Search<\/a> functionality, allowing users to conduct more targeted and efficient searches of registered designs.
\n\tDAS Validation, fee calculations and back-office improvements enhance the reliability and speed of examination and priority claim verification.
\n\tUser interface and document upload improvements make the system more intuitive and accessible for all users.<\/p>\n

Connecting through Stories and Podcasts<\/p>\n

In 2025, we continued to bring the Hague System to life for our global audience with new stories and podcast episodes. The stories highlighted a wide range of designs protected under the System, showing how they work in the real world and how they can help users gain wider market recognition and strengthen global competitiveness. Meanwhile, the podcasts featured insights from experts, designers and policymakers, offering practical guidance and inspiration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not following us yet?<\/p>\n

Join our Brands and Designs LinkedIn community<\/a><\/p>\n

Looking ahead to 2026<\/p>\n

Building on the momentum of our centennial year, we will continue strengthening the Hague System as a modern, accessible and user-focused route for international design protection. In 2026, our focus will be on:<\/p>\n

\tExpanding the System\u2019s reach by working with new jurisdictions and broadening global access to international design protection.
\n\tAdvancing legal and technical modernization, including continued discussions on expanded digital representation formats for 3D, GUI and motion designs.
\n\tEnhancing digital tools and platforms, with further improvements to eHague, stronger search and analytics capabilities, and more intuitive user interfaces.
\n\tDeepening outreach and engagement, through targeted communication and user-focused content.
\n\tMaintaining operational excellence, by optimizing examination workflows, quality assurance and back-office processes to support growing application volumes.
\n\tStrengthening customer support, with responsive service, expanded communication channels and continuous engagement to better understand and meet user needs.<\/p>\n

Together, these priorities will strengthen the Hague System as a modern, accessible and globally coherent framework for design protection.<\/p>\n

Keep up with Hague System news<\/p>\n

Warmest wishes from all of us at the Hague Registry for a happy, healthy and creative 2026 !<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 was a landmark year for the Hague System, marking 100 years of international design protection. WIPO celebrated…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[869,2928,42],"class_list":{"0":"post-3025","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-hague","8":"tag-hague-the-international-design-system","9":"tag-smes","10":"tag-the-hague"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}