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Title 35 — PatentsRelease 119-73not60

§386 Right of Priority

Title 35 › Part V— THE HAGUE AGREEMENT CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS › Chapter 38— INTERNATIONAL DESIGN APPLICATIONS › § 386

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Lets U.S. national and international design applications claim earlier filing dates from certain earlier foreign or international filings under the rules in sections 119(a)–(d), 172, 120, and 351(c), and under the treaty and Regulations. A national application can claim priority from a prior international design application that designated at least 1 country other than the United States. An international design application naming the United States can claim priority from earlier foreign or international filings as described in those rules. If the earlier filing was an international application that designated but did not originate in the United States, the Director may require a certified copy of that earlier application and an English translation.

Full Legal Text

Title 35, §386

Patents — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In accordance with the conditions and requirements of subsections (a) through (d) of section 119 and section 172, a national application shall be entitled to the right of priority based on a prior international design application that designated at least 1 country other than the United States.
(b)In accordance with the conditions and requirements of subsections (a) through (d) of section 119 and section 172 and the treaty and the Regulations, an international design application designating the United States shall be entitled to the right of priority based on a prior foreign application, a prior international application as defined in section 351(c) designating at least 1 country other than the United States, or a prior international design application designating at least 1 country other than the United States.
(c)In accordance with the conditions and requirements of section 120, an international design application designating the United States shall be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior national application, a prior international application as defined in section 351(c) designating the United States, or a prior international design application designating the United States, and a national application shall be entitled to the benefit of the filing date of a prior international design application designating the United States. If any claim for the benefit of an earlier filing date is based on a prior international application as defined in section 351(c) which designated but did not originate in the United States or a prior international design application which designated but did not originate in the United States, the Director may require the filing in the Patent and Trademark Office of a certified copy of such application together with a translation thereof into the English language, if it was filed in another language.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the later of the date that is 1 year after Dec. 18, 2012, or the date that the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs enters into force with respect to the United States (May 13, 2015), and applicable only to certain applications filed on and after that

Effective Date

and patents issuing thereon, see section 103 of Pub. L. 112–211, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2012 Amendment note under section 100 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

35 U.S.C. § 386

Title 35 — Patents

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60