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.

Table of contents

Payload contents

Payloads consist in a ZIP file containing 3 kinds of information:

  • bibliographic data, in ST.96 XML.
  • supporting PDF documents. Supporting documents MUST be stamped with a <com:DocumentKindCategory> value as per the ST.96 standard in order to be categorized correctly in the Hague System. Failing to provide the document category will prevent automated recording of the transaction, and will fail the importation of said transaction into the Hague System.
    • only one per decisions (statement of grant of protection, refusal, division, invalidation, etc.). The <com:DocumentKindCategory> choices are as follows:
      • REFUSAL_DECISION
      • GRANT_OF_PROTECTION_AFTER_REFUSAL
      • GRANT_OF_PROTECTION_NO_PRIOR_REFUSAL
      • DIVISION
      • INVALIDATION
    • as many as needed in case of indirect applications. The <com:DocumentKindCategory> choices are as follows:
      • INTERNATIONAL_DESIGN_APPLICATION, for the DM/1 form
      • POWER_OF_ATTORNEY, for US applicants designating a representative
      • MISCELLANEOUS, for any other kind of document
  • JPG designs, in the case of an indirect application. The <com:DocumentKindCategory> choice is REPRODUCTION_SHEETS.

The complete documentation of the ST.96 can be found here.

The internal structure of the ZIP is unimportant. What matters is that:

  • 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:


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:

  • 7.0
  • 4.0
  • 3.2T1

Payment information

Indirect applications. through the <dgn:HagueApplication> tag (see "Samples" below), replicate the latest version of the DM/1. That includes section "Payment of fees", page 12 of the DM/1 (which can be found at https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/hague/en/docs/form_dm_1-editable1.pdf):

There are 4 payment methods at the moment (numbered according to the DM/1):

2. Instructions to debit from a Current Account at WIPO

3. Payment received and acknowledged by WIPO

4. Bank transfer

5. Payment made to the Office

Below are described the ways to express these different payment methods in ST.96 v4.0 and higher (when not specified). Payments methods are available at:

2. Instructions to debit from a Current Account at WIPO

<com:Payment>
    <com:PaymentModeCategory>Current account</com:PaymentModeCategory>
    <com:PaymentMethod>
        <com:CurrentAccount>
            <!-- Account Number -->              
            <com:AccountNumber>123456</com:AccountNumber>
            <!-- Holder of the account -->
            <com:AccountHolderName>
                <com:PersonName>
                    <com:PersonFullName>Someone who has a current account</com:PersonFullName>
                </com:PersonName>
            </com:AccountHolderName>
        </com:CurrentAccount>
    </com:PaymentMethod>
    <!-- Identity of the party giving the instruction -->    
    <com:PayerName>
        <com:EntityName>Jane Doe</com:EntityName>
    </com:PayerName>
    <com:FeePayableTotalAmount>12345.00</com:FeePayableTotalAmount>
</com:Payment>

3. Payment received and acknowledged by WIPO

<com:Payment>
    <!-- WIPO Receipt Number -->     
    <com:PaymentIdentifier>HAG/PayRef12345</com:PaymentIdentifier>
    <com:PaymentModeCategory>Payment already made</com:PaymentModeCategory> <!-- Proposed for Version 7.0 of ST96 -->
    <!-- Identity of the party which made the payment -->
    <com:PayerName>
        <com:EntityName>Jane Doe</com:EntityName>
    </com:PayerName>
    <com:FeePayableTotalAmount>12345.00</com:FeePayableTotalAmount>
</com:Payment>

4. Bank transfer

<com:Payment>
    <com:PaymentModeCategory>Bank draft</com:PaymentModeCategory>
    <com:PaymentMethod>
        <com:BankTransfer>
            <!-- Payment Identification: -->
            <com:BankTransferIdentifier>Payment Ref 2</com:BankTransferIdentifier>
            <!-- day/month/year: --> 
            <com:BankTransferDate>2022-12-25</com:BankTransferDate>
            <com:DestinationBankAccount>WIPO bank account no</com:DestinationBankAccount> <!-- or WIPO Postal account -->
        </com:BankTransfer>
    </com:PaymentMethod>
    <!-- Identity of the party which made the payment -->
    <com:PayerName>
        <com:EntityName>Jane Doe</com:EntityName>
    </com:PayerName>
    <com:FeePayableTotalAmount>12345.00</com:FeePayableTotalAmount>
</com:Payment>

5. Payment made to the Office

  • Version 4.0
<com:PaymentBag>
	<com:Payment>
		<com:PaymentIdentifier>xxxxxxxxx</com:PaymentIdentifier>
		<com:PaymentMethod>
			<com:OtherPaymentMethod>Payment made to the office of indirect filing</com:OtherPaymentMethod>
		</com:PaymentMethod>
		<com:PaymentDate>2021-09-30</com:PaymentDate>
		<com:FeePayableTotalAmount com:currencyCode="CHF">1981</com:FeePayableTotalAmount>
	</com:Payment>
</com:PaymentBag>
  • Version 7.0
<!-- In this case, the identity of the Office is given in the context. It is assumed to be the Office that is sending the dgn:HagueApplication -->
<com:Payment>
    <!-- A reference that must also appear on a transfer statement from the Office. This common reference is that will allow the IB to match the payment with the application -->
    <!-- This reference is given by the Office. It is not provided by the applicant -->
    <com:PaymentReference>OfficeRef12345</com:PaymentReference>
    <com:PaymentModeCategory>Payment through Office</com:PaymentModeCategory> <!-- Proposed for Version 7.0 of ST96 -->
    <com:FeePayableTotalAmount>12345.00</com:FeePayableTotalAmount>
</com:Payment>

Samples

The below examples are all ST.96 4.0 compliant.

Indirect Filing

Decisions

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