Whether your Office is using Hague Web Services (HWS) or EDI SFTP to interface with the Hague System, the electronic payload is the exactly same. This makes it quite easy for EDI users to migrate to HWS. The only difference is that HWS allow no more than one record per payload, whereas EDI allows multiple records in a single payload. As a consequence, EDI Offices that already send single record payloads can, from this perspective, migrate to HWS right away.
Office to IB communications are of the following sort:
- indirect applications
- decisions, such as:
- grants of protection (partial or total)
- refusals (partial or total)
- withdrawals of refusal (partial or total)
- declarations that a change of ownership has no effect
- withdrawals of a declaration that a change of ownership has no effect
- divisions
- refusals of correction
- withdrawals of refusal of correction
- invalidations
- invitations to pay the second part of the fee
- notifications that the second part of the fee was paid
- cancellations for non payment of the second part of the fee
...
Decision type | <com:DocumentKindCategory> value |
|---|---|
| refusal | REFUSAL_DECISION |
| grant of protection following a refusal | GRANT_OF_PROTECTION_AFTER_REFUSAL |
| grant of protection not following a refusal | GRANT_OF_PROTECTION_NO_PRIOR_REFUSAL |
division | DIVISION |
| invalidation | INVALIDATION |
| refusal of correction | REFUSAL_CORRECTION |
| withdrawal of a refusal of correction | REFUSAL_WITHDRAWAL_CORRECTION |
| declaration that a change of ownership has no effect | REFUSAL_OWNERSHIP_CHANGE |
| withdrawal of a declaration that a change of ownership has no effect | REFUSAL_WITHDRAWAL_CHANGE |
- as many as needed in case of indirect applications. The <com:DocumentKindCategory> choices are as follows:
...
Document type | <com:DocumentKindCategory> value |
|---|---|
| the DM/1 form | INTERNATIONAL_DESIGN_APPLICATION |
| for US applicants designating a representative | POWER_OF_ATTORNEY |
| any other kind of document | MISCELLANEOUS |
- JPG designs, in the case of an indirect application. The <com:DocumentKindCategory> choice is REPRODUCTION_SHEETS.
...
- there is one and only one XML file inside the ZIP
- the exact relative path of documents and designs is correctly referenced in the XML:
Technical limitations
Note that a payload (aka package), as well as its contents, are subject to the following technical limitations:
- package max size: 800 MB
- PDF document max size: 100 MB
- Image file max size: 100 MB
- Image resolution: 300 dpi
Accepted versions
Although the official ST.96 version in force in the Hague System is 7.0, the latter accepts the following ST.96 versions in Hague electronic payloads, for backward compatibility reasons:
...
The below examples are all ST.96 47.0 compliant.
Indirect Filing
- Indirect Filing with Light-Structured Data (updated on Mar. 8, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- CN is live with this output.
- Indirect Filing with Light-Structured Data & Image References (updated on Mar. 15, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- CN is live with this output.
- Indirect Filing with Full-Structured Data & principal/related design information for CN and KR: Example of XML
- In this application, there are 3 designs. CN and KR are designated. Design 1 is the principal design. KR considers that only design 2 relates to design 1. CN enforces that all designs are "similar" (not related) to design 1. This last case is subject to amendments in a future version of ST.96.
- Indirect Filing with Full-Structured Data & payment to the office of indirect filing: Example of XML
- This case is subject to amendments in a future version of ST.96.
- Indirect Filing with Full-Structured Data & payment to the IB: Example of XML
- KR is live with this output.
...
- Refusal of Protection which applies to all the designs (updated on Mar. 8, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Refusal of Protection which applies to some of the designs (updated on Mar. 8, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Grant of Protection following a refusal (updated on Mar. 8, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Grant of Protection in the absence of a prior notification of refusal (updated on Mar. 8, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Partial Grant of Protection (updated on May 30Jan 2, 20242025)
- Division - example 1 (updated on Mar. 18, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Division - example 2 (updated on Mar. 8, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Invalidation (updated on Mar. 22, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Declaration that a change in ownership has no effect (updated on Mar. 22, 2022Jan 2, 2025)
- Withdrawal of declaration that a change in ownership has no effect (updated June 6, 2025)
- Refusal of a correction (updated October 15Jan 2, 20242025)