Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services
for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks of June 15, 1957,
as revised at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, and at Geneva on May 13, 1977, and
amended on September 28, 1979
Article 1: Establishment of a Special Union; Adoption of an International
Classification; Definition and Languages of the Classification
Article 2: Legal Effect and Use of the Classification
Article 3: Committee of Experts
Article 4: Notification, Entry Into Force and Publication of Changes
Article 5: Assembly of the Special Union
Article 6: International Bureau
Article 7: Finances
Article 8: Amendment of Articles 5 to 8
Article 9: Ratification and Accession; Entry Into Force
Article 10: Duration
Article 11: Revision
Article 12: Denunciation
Article 13: Reference to Article 24 of the Paris Convention
Article 14: Signature; Languages; Depositary Functions; Notifications
Article 1
Establishment of a Special Union;
Adoption of an International Classification;
Definition and Languages of the Classification
(1) The countries to which this Agreement applies constitute a Special Union
and adopt a common classification of goods and services for the purposes of
the registration of marks (hereinafter designated as "the Classification").
(2) The Classification consists of:
(i) a list of classes, together with, as the case may be, explanatory notes;
(ii) an alphabetical list of goods and services (hereinafter designated as
"the alphabetical list") with an indication of the class into which
each of the goods or services falls.
(3) The
Classification comprises:
(i) the classification
published in 1971 by the International Bureau of Intellectual Property (hereinafter
designated as "the International Bureau") referred to in the Convention
Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, it being understood,
however, that the explanatory notes to the list of classes included in that
publication shall be regarded as provisional and as recommendations until such
time as explanatory notes to the list of classes are established by the Committee
of Experts referred to in Article 3;
(ii) the amendments
and additions which have entered into force, pursuant to Article
4(1) of the Nice Agreement of June 15, 1957, and of the Stockholm Act of
July 14, 1967, of that Agreement, prior to the entry into force of the present
Act;
(iii) any changes
to be made in accordance with Article 3 of this Act and which
enter into force pursuant to Article 4(1) of this Act.
(4) The Classification shall be in the English and French languages, both texts
being equally authentic.
(5) (a) The classification
referred to in paragraph (3)(i), together with those amendments
and additions referred to in paragraph (3)(ii) which have
entered into force prior to the date this Act is opened for signature, is contained
in one authentic copy, in the French language, deposited with the Director General
of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter designated respectively
"the Director General" and "the Organization"). Those amendments
and additions referred to in paragraph (3)(ii) which enter
into force after the date this Act is opened for signature shall also be deposited
in one authentic copy, in the French language, with the Director General.
(b) The English version of the texts referred
to in subparagraph (a) shall be established by the Committee of Experts referred
to in Article 3 promptly after the entry into force of this
Act. Its authentic copy shall be deposited with the Director General.
(c) The changes referred to in paragraph
(3)(iii) shall be deposited in one authentic copy, in the English and French
languages, with the Director General.
(6) Official
texts of the Classification, in Arabic, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian,
Spanish and in such other languages as the Assembly referred to in Article
5 may designate, shall be established by the Director General, after consultation
with the interested Governments and either on the basis of a translation submitted
by those Governments or by any other means which do not entail financial implications
for the budget of the Special Union or for the Organization.
(7) The alphabetical list shall mention, opposite each indication of goods
or services, a serial number that is specific to the language in which the said
list is established, together with:
(i) in the case of the alphabetical list established in English, the serial
number mentioned in respect of the same indication in the alphabetical list
established in French, and vice versa;
(ii) in the
case of any alphabetical list established pursuant to paragraph
(6), the serial number mentioned in respect of the same indication in the
alphabetical list established in English or in the alphabetical list established
in French.
Article 2
Legal Effect and Use of the Classification
(1) Subject to the requirements prescribed by this Agreement, the effect of
the Classification shall be that attributed to it by each country of the Special
Union. In particular, the Classification shall not bind the countries of the
Special Union in respect of either the evaluation of the extent of the protection
afforded to any given mark or the recognition of service marks.
(2) Each of the countries of the Special Union reserves the right to use the
Classification either as a principal or as a subsidiary system.
(3) The competent Offices of the countries of the Special Union shall include
in the official documents and publications relating to registrations of marks
the numbers of the classes of the Classification to which the goods or services
for which the mark is registered belong.
(4) The fact that a term is included in the alphabetical list in no way affects
any rights which might subsist in such a term.
Article 3
Committee of Experts
(1) A Committee of Experts shall be set up in which each country of the Special
Union shall be represented.
(2) (a)
The Director General may, and, if requested by the Committee of Experts, shall,
invite countries outside the Special Union which are members of the Organization
or party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property to
be represented by observers at meetings of the Committee of Experts.
(b) The Director General shall invite intergovernmental organizations specialized
in the field of marks, of which at least one of the member countries is a country
of the Special Union, to be represented by observers at meetings of the Committee
of Experts.
(c) The Director General may, and, if requested by the Committee of Experts,
shall, invite representatives of other intergovernmental organizations and international
non-governmental organizations to participate in discussions of interest to
them.
(3) The Committee of Experts shall:
(i) decide on changes in the Classification;
(ii) address recommendations to the countries of the Special Union for the
purpose of facilitating the use of the Classification and promoting its uniform
application;
(iii) take all other measures which, without entailing financial implications
for the budget of the Special Union or for the Organization, contribute towards
facilitating the application of the Classification by developing countries;
(iv) have the right to establish subcommittees and working groups.
(4) The
Committee of Experts shall adopt its own rules of procedure. The latter shall
provide for the possibility of participation in meetings of the subcommittees
and working groups of the Committee of Experts by those intergovernmental organizations
referred to in paragraph (2)(b) which can make a substantial
contribution to the development of the Classification.
(5) Proposals for changes
in the Classification may be made by the competent Office of any country of
the Special Union, the International Bureau, any intergovernmental organization
represented in the Committee of Experts pursuant to paragraph
(2)(b) and any country or organization specially invited by the Committee
of Experts to submit such proposals. The proposals shall be communicated to
the International Bureau, which shall submit them to the members of the Committee
of Experts and to the observers not later than two months before the session
of the Committee of Experts at which the said proposals are to be considered.
(6) Each country of the Special Union shall have one vote.
(7) (a) Subject to subparagraph (b),
the decisions of the Committee of Experts shall require a simple majority of
the countries of the Special Union represented and voting.
(b) Decisions concerning the adoption of amendments to the Classification shall
require a majority of four-fifths of the countries of the Special Union represented
and voting. "Amendment" shall mean any transfer of goods or services
from one class to another or the creation of any new class.
(c) The rules of procedure referred to in
paragraph (4) shall provide that, except in special cases,
amendments to the Classification shall be adopted at the end of specified periods;
the length of each period shall be determined by the Committee of Experts.
(8) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
Article 4
Notification, Entry Into Force and Publication of Changes
(1) Changes decided upon by the Committee of Experts and recommendations of
the Committee of Experts shall be notified to the competent Offices of the countries
of the Special Union by the International Bureau. Amendments shall enter into
force six months after the date of dispatch of the notification. Any other change
shall enter into force on a date to be specified by the Committee of Experts
at the time the change is adopted.
(2) The International Bureau
shall incorporate in the Classification the changes which have entered into
force. Announcements of those changes shall be published in such periodicals
as may be designated by the Assembly referred to in Article 5.
Article 5
Assembly of the Special Union
(1) (a) The Special Union shall have
an Assembly consisting of those countries which have ratified or acceded to
this Act.
(b) The Government of each country shall be represented by one delegate, who
may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors, and experts.
(c) The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which
has appointed it.
(2) (a) Subject to the provisions
of Articles 3 and 4, the Assembly shall:
(i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the
Special Union and the implementation of this Agreement;
(ii) give directions to the International Bureau concerning the preparation
for conferences of revision, due account being taken of any comments made by
those countries of the Special Union which have not ratified or acceded to this
Act;
(iii) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director General
of the Organization (hereinafter designated as "the Director General")
concerning the Special Union, and give him all necessary instructions concerning
matters within the competence of the Special Union;
(iv) determine the program and adopt the biennial budget of the Special Union,
and approve its final accounts;
(v) adopt the financial regulations of the Special Union;
(vi) establish,
in addition to the Committee of Experts referred to in Article
3, such other committees of experts and working groups as it may deem necessary
to achieve the objectives of the Special Union;
(vii) determine which countries not members of the Special Union and which
intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations shall be
admitted to its meetings as observers;
(viii) adopt
amendments to Articles 5 to 8;
(ix) take any other appropriate action designed to further the objectives of
the Special Union;
(x) perform such other functions as are appropriate under this Agreement.
(b) With respect to matters which are of interest also to other Unions administered
by the Organization, the Assembly shall make its decisions after having heard
the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
(3) (a) Each country member of the Assembly
shall have one vote.
(b) One-half of the countries members of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (b), if, in any session,
the number of countries represented is less than one-half but equal to or more
than one-third of the countries members of the Assembly, the Assembly may make
decisions but, with the exception of decisions concerning its own procedure,
all such decisions shall take effect only if the conditions set forth hereinafter
are fulfilled. The International Bureau shall communicate the said decisions
to the countries members of the Assembly which were not represented and shall
invite them to express in writing their vote or abstention within a period of
three months from the date of the communication. If, at the expiration of this
period, the number of countries having thus expressed their vote or abstention
attains the number of countries which was lacking for attaining the quorum in
the session itself, such decisions shall take effect provided that at the same
time the required majority still obtains.
(d) Subject to the provisions of Article
8(2), the decisions of the Assembly shall require two-thirds of the votes
cast.
(e) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.
(f) A delegate may represent, and vote in the name of, one country only.
(g) Countries of the Special Union not members of the Assembly shall be admitted
to the meetings of the latter as observers.
(4) (a) The Assembly shall meet once
in every second calendar year in ordinary session upon convocation by the Director
General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period
and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.
(b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the
Director General, at the request of one-fourth of the countries members of the
Assembly.
(c) The agenda of each session shall be prepared by the Director General.
(5) The Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
Article 6
International Bureau
(1) (a) Administrative tasks concerning
the Special Union shall be performed by the International Bureau.
(b) In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare the meetings and
provide the secretariat of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts, and such
other committees of experts and working groups as may have been established
by the Assembly or the Committee of Experts.
(c) The Director General shall be the chief executive of the Special Union
and shall represent the Special Union.
(2) The Director General and any staff member designated by him shall participate,
without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of
Experts, and such other committees of experts or working groups as may have
been established by the Assembly or the Committee of Experts. The Director General,
or a staff member designated by him, shall be ex officio secretary of those
bodies.
(3) (a) The International
Bureau shall, in accordance with the directions of the Assembly, make the preparations
for the conferences of revision of the provisions of the Agreement other than
Articles 5 to 8.
(b) The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international
non-governmental organizations concerning preparations for conferences of revision.
(c) The Director General and persons designated by him shall take part, without
the right to vote, in the discussions at those conferences.
(4) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to it.
(1) (a) The Special Union shall have
a budget.
(b) The budget of the Special Union shall include the income and expenses proper
to the Special Union, its contribution to the budget of expenses common to the
Unions, and, where applicable, the sum made available to the budget of the Conference
of the Organization.
(c) Expenses not attributable exclusively to the Special Union but also to
one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be considered
as expenses common to the Unions. The share of the Special Union in such common
expenses shall be in proportion to the interest the Special Union has in them.
(2) The budget of the Special Union shall be established with due regard to
the requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions administered
by the Organization.
(3) The budget of the Special Union shall be financed from the following sources:
(i) contributions of the countries of the Special Union;
(ii) fees and charges due for services rendered by the International Bureau
in relation to the Special Union;
(iii) sale of, or royalties on, the publications of the International Bureau
concerning the Special Union;
(iv) gifts, bequests, and subventions;
(v) rents, interests, and other miscellaneous income.
(4) (a) For the purpose of establishing
its contribution referred to in paragraph (3)(i), each country of the Special
Union shall belong to the same class as it belongs to in the Paris Union for
the Protection of Industrial Property, and shall pay its annual contributions
on the basis of the same number of units as is fixed for that class in that
Union1.
(b) The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union shall be an
amount in the same proportion to the total sum to be contributed to the budget
of the Special Union by all countries as the number of its units is to the total
of the units of all contributing countries.
(c) Contributions shall become due on the first of January of each year.
(d) A country which is in arrears in the payment of its contributions may not
exercise its right to vote in any organ of the Special Union if the amount of
its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for
the preceding two full years. However, any organ of the Special Union may allow
such a country to continue to exercise its right to vote in that organ if, and
as long as, it is satisfied that the delay in payment is due to exceptional
and unavoidable circumstances.
(e) If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial period,
it shall be at the same level as the budget of the previous year, as provided
in the financial regulations.
(5) The amount of the fees and charges due for services rendered by the International
Bureau in relation to the Special Union shall be established, and shall be reported
to the Assembly, by the Director General.
(6) (a) The Special Union shall have
a working capital fund which shall be constituted by a single payment made by
each country of the Special Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly
shall decide to increase it.
(b) The amount of the initial payment of each country to the said fund or of
its participation in the increase thereof shall be a proportion of the contribution
of that country for the year in which the fund is established or the decision
to increase it is made.
(c) The proportion and the terms of payment shall be fixed by the Assembly
on the proposal of the Director General and after it has heard the advice of
the Coordination Committee of the Organization.
(7)
(a) In the headquarters agreement concluded with the country on the territory
of which the Organization has its headquarters, it shall be provided that, whenever
the working capital fund is insufficient, such country shall grant advances.
The amount of those advances and the conditions on which they are granted shall
be the subject of separate agreements, in each case, between such country and
the Organization.
(b) The country referred to in subparagraph (a) and the Organization shall
each have the right to denounce the obligation to grant advances, by written
notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the
year in which it has been notified.
(8) The auditing of the accounts shall be effected by one or more of the countries
of the Special Union or by external auditors, as provided in the financial regulations.
They shall be designated, with their agreement, by the Assembly.
Article 8
Amendment of Articles 5 to 8
(1) Proposals
for the amendment of Articles 5, 6, 7,
and the present Article, may be initiated by any country member of the Assembly,
or by the Director General. Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director
General to the member countries of the Assembly at least six months in advance
of their consideration by the Assembly.
(2) Amendments
to the Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall be adopted
by the Assembly. Adoption shall require three-fourths of the votes cast, provided
that any amendment to Article 5, and to the present paragraph, shall require
four-fifths of the votes cast.
(3) Any amendment to the
Articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall enter into force
one month after written notifications of acceptance, effected in accordance
with their respective constitutional processes, have been received by the Director
General from three-fourths of the countries members of the Assembly at the time
it adopted the amendment. Any amendment to the said Articles thus accepted shall
bind all the countries which are members of the Assembly at the time the amendment
enters into force, or which become members thereof at a subsequent date, provided
that any amendment increasing the financial obligations of countries of the
Special Union shall bind only those countries which have notified their acceptance
of such amendment.
Article 9
Ratification and Accession; Entry Into Force
(1) Any country of the Special Union which has signed this Act may ratify it,
and, if it has not signed it, may accede to it.
(2) Any country outside the Special Union which is party to the Paris Convention
for the Protection of Industrial Property may accede to this Act and thereby
become a country of the Special Union.
(3) Instruments of ratification and accession shall be deposited with the Director
General.
(4) (a) This Act shall enter into force
three months after both of the following conditions are fulfilled:
(i) six or more countries have deposited their instruments of ratification
or accession;
(ii) at least three of the said countries are countries which, on the date
this Act is opened for signature, are countries of the Special Union.
(b) The entry into force referred to in subparagraph (a) shall apply to those
countries which, at least three months before the said entry into force, have
deposited instruments of ratification or accession.
(c) With respect to any country not covered by subparagraph (b), this Act shall
enter into force three months after the date on which its ratification or accession
was notified by the Director General, unless a subsequent date has been indicated
in the instrument of ratification or accession. In the latter case, this Act
shall enter into force with respect to that country on the date thus indicated.
(5) Ratification or accession shall automatically entail acceptance of all
the clauses and admission to all the advantages of this Act.
(6) After the entry into force of this Act, no country may ratify or accede
to an earlier Act of this Agreement.
This Agreement shall have the same duration as the Paris Convention for the
Protection of Industrial Property.
(1) This Agreement may be revised from time to time by a conference of the
countries of the Special Union.
(2) The convocation of any revision conference shall be decided upon by the
Assembly.
(3) Articles
5 to 8 may be amended either by a revision conference or
according to Article 8.
(1) Any country may denounce this Act by notification addressed to the Director
General. Such denunciation shall constitute also denunciation of the earlier
Act or Acts of this Agreement which the country denouncing this Act may have
ratified or acceded to, and shall affect only the country making it, the Agreement
remaining in full force and effect as regards the other countries of the Special
Union.
(2) Denunciation shall take effect one year after the day on which the Director
General has received the notification.
(3) The right of denunciation provided by this Article shall not be exercised
by any country before the expiration of five years from the date upon which
it becomes a country of the Special Union.
Article 13
Reference to Article 24 of the Paris Convention
The provisions of Article 24 of the Stockholm Act of 1967 of the Paris Convention
for the Protection of Industrial Property shall apply to this Agreement, provided
that, if those provisions are amended in the future, the latest amendment shall
apply to this Agreement with respect to those countries of the Special Union
which are bound by such amendment.
Article 14
Signature; Languages; Depositary Functions; Notifications
(1) (a) This Act shall be signed in a
single original in the English and French languages, both texts being equally
authentic, and shall be deposited with the Director General.
(b) Official texts of this Act shall be established by the Director General,
after consultation with the interested Governments and within two months from
the date of signature of this Act, in the two other languages, Russian and Spanish,
in which, together with the languages referred to in subparagraph (a), authentic
texts of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization
were signed.
(c) Official texts of this Act shall be established by the Director General,
after consultation with the interested Governments, in the Arabic, German, Italian
and Portuguese languages, and such other languages as the Assembly may designate.
(2) This Act shall remain open for signature until December 31, 1977.
(3) (a) The Director General shall transmit
two copies, certified by him, of the signed text of this Act to the Governments
of all countries of the Special Union and, on request, to the Government of
any other country.
(b) The Director General shall transmit two copies, certified by him, of any
amendment to this Act to the Governments of all countries of the Special Union
and, on request, to the Government of any other country.
(4) The Director General shall register this Act with the Secretariat of the
United Nations.
(5) The Director General shall notify the Governments of all countries party
to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of:
(i) signatures under paragraph (1);
(ii) deposits
of instruments of ratification or accession under Article 9(3);
(iii) the date
of entry into force of this Act under Article 9(4)(a);
(iv) acceptances
of amendments to this Act under Article 8(3);
(v) the dates on which such amendments enter into force;
(vi) denunciations
received under Article 12.