Classification

The Locarno Agreement

In 1968, representatives of the member states of the Paris Union Convention established the Locarno Classification, a system for the international classification of industrial designs, at a diplomatic conference in Locarno, Switzerland.

The Locarno classification includes:

The original list of classes and subclasses was attached to the Locarno Agreement when it was adopted.

The Locarno Agreement also set up the Committee of Experts, in which each contracting country are represented. Under the Agreement, the Committee of Experts is responsible for reviewing, amending and supplementing the Classification and ensuring that the three main parts of the Classification (list of classes and subclasses, alphabetical list of goods, explanatory notes) remain consistent as a result of the amendments made.

Using the Classification

The Locarno Classification is " solely of an administrative character " and does not bind the contracting countries "as regards the nature and scope of the protection afforded to the design in those countries" (Locarno Agreement, Article 2(1)).

The Locarno Agreement requires the industrial property office of each contracting country to "include in the official documents for the deposit or registration of designs, and, if they are officially published, in the publications in question, the numbers of the classes and subclasses of the international classification into which the goods incorporating the designs belong" (Article 2(3)).

Besides the competent offices of the contracting countries, the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI), the African Regional Industrial Property Organisation (ARIPO), the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) also use the Locarno Classification in their registers and in the publications they issue.   

Review and expenditure of the Classification

The Locarno Classification has been revised several times by the Committee of Experts. The current (fifteenth) edition incorporates all revisions made in 2023 and before. It contains a total of 32 classes and 240 subclasses, with explanatory notes where necessary. The alphabetical list of good, which contains more than 5,000 entries in English, is presendted in alphabetical order, irrespective of the class to which each good belongs, as well as in the order of classes and subclasses, alphabetically under each subclass. The authentic versions of the Classification in English and French are published online by the International Bureau of WIPO.

The 15th edition came into force on 1 January 2025, replacing the previous editions.

Currently, the 15th edition of the Agreement applies.
The 15th edition of the Locarno Classification (in English, French and Hungarian) is available in the link collection on the right. The 15th edition of the Locarno Classification (WIPO database) is available in the link collection on the right.

DesignClass

DesignClass is an online product indications search tool establsihed by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) to help users find product indications in the Harmonised Database that best match the goods to which a design applies.

The search tool, modelled on TMClass, includes a Harmonised Database of Product Indications (HDBPI).

The harmonised database of product designations is continuously updated to meet the needs of the market and users. This update is carried out in a three-monthly review by EUIPO with the assistance of classification experts from all the harmonised offices. Currently 46 IP offices, including thirteen offices outside the European Union, are involved in the maintenance of the Harmonised Database (including the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office).

The database contains approximately 13,000 indications and includes the terminology of the Locarno Classification as well as a number of designations pre-approved by national authorities. DesignClass currently allows users to search for and translate product indications in 30 languages.

The DesignClass soldering is available in the link collection on the right.