A new Nice Trade Mark Classification system will come into force on 1 January 2024. The 45 classes of goods and services have been updated. The changes seek to align the Nice classification with the evolving landscape of inventions and technological advancements and societal changes, ecological awareness and the increasing importance of mental health.
According to the WIPO press release:
The 2024 version of the twelfth edition of the Nice Classification includes a number of changes compared to the previous version. The purpose of the present Notice is to inform the Offices of the Contracting Parties of the Madrid Union, as well as applicants and holders, of the practice that is followed by the International Bureau of WIPO for the examination of applications for international trade mark registration that are presented during the transition to the new version of the twelfth edition of the Nice Classification.
The International Bureau of WIPO will apply the 2024 version of the twelfth edition of the Nice Classification to:
– any application for international registration that is received by the Office of origin on or after January 1, 2024;
– any application for international registration that is received by the International Bureau of WIPO on or after January 1, 2024, when the said application is received by the International Bureau of WIPO after the two-month time limit referred to in Article 3(4) of the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks.
This new version is available on the website of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), at the following address: https://www.wipo.int/classifications/nice/en/.
