A new version of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, the so-called Nice Classification, was recently published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and came into force on the 1st January, 2016.
The Nice Classification, established by the Nice Agreement in 1957, lists 45 classes and assigns goods to Classes 1 to 34, and services to classes 35 to 45. Some of the recent changes made to the 2015 version consist in the addition of new goods and services within particular classes and include reclassification or alteration of the description of existing items.
Some of the most noteworthy changes include:
“smartwatches” and “protective films adapted for computer screens” is added to class 9;
“protein-enriched sports beverages” is added to Class 32 (under the 2016 version, nutritionally enriched foods or beverages are classified under Class 5 only if they are specified as being for medical or veterinary purposes);
“food flavorings [essential oils]” is added to Class 3 (in order to distinguish these items from all other food flavorings classified under Class 30)
“emery boards” is added to Class 8 (previously was considered as an item under Class 3);
“mouth guards” and “head guards” were previously categorised as sporting articles under Class 28 and are now considered “life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments” under Class 9; and
“songwriting” is added as a service under Class 41.
All countries party to the Nice Agreement, including several other countries and organisations which have chosen to adopt the system, must apply this new edition to all trademark applications that are received on or after the 1st of January, 2016. The 2016 version of the Nice Classification is now available on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
