Version 3.0
1. The Nice Classification consists of a list of classes together with, as the case may be, explanatory notes, and a list of goods and services with an indication of the class in which the goods or services are classified (see Article 1(2) of the Nice Agreement).
Class Headings
2. The Class Headings indicate in a general manner the fields to which the goods and services in principle belong.
Explanatory Notes and General Remarks
3. For ascertaining the correct classification of a good or a service, the Explanatory Notes relating to the various classes and the List of Goods and Services should be consulted. If a good or a service cannot be classified with the aid of the List of Classes, the Explanatory Notes and the List of Goods and Services, the General Remarks set forth the criteria that should be applied.
List of Goods and Services
4. The List of Goods and Services is presented in class order in the “Classes” tab and in alphabetical order in the “Alphabetical” tab. Each indication of good or service has a six-digit identification number called “basic number”. Different indications of the same good or service (synonyms or indications with variant spellings) share the same basic number. The first two digits of a basic number correspond to the number of the class in which the good or service is classified (01 to 45). The basic number enables the user to find the equivalent good or service in the lists of goods and services of other language versions of the Classification.
(i) List of Goods and Services in class order (“Classes” tab)
5. The list is presented in two columns, which for each good or service shows, in the first column the basic number, and in the second column the indication of good or service. When an indication has synonyms and/or spelling variants, the second column contains the master indication followed by the synonyms and/or spelling variants, e.g.:
Class 25
Basic No Indication
250126 bathing suits / swimsuits
6. The alphabetical order within the class is determined by a term marked in bold in the master indication, in the example above “bathing”. This is mostly the first word of the indication, unless it is a very general term, such as “preparations”, “apparatus”, or “instruments”.
7. In the bilingual version (English/French), the list is presented in three columns, the third column containing the French version (master indication and, as the case may be, synonyms and/or spelling variants) of the English indication appearing in the second column, e.g.:
|
Class 25
Basic No |
Indication (EN) |
Indication (FR) |
|
250126 |
bathing suits / swimsuits |
maillots de bain / costumes de bain |
(ii) List of Goods and Services in alphabetical order (“Alphabetical” tab)
8. The list of goods and the list of services are presented, under each letter of the alphabet, in three columns, which for each good or service show, in the first column the number of the class to which the good or service belongs, in the second column the indication of the good or service, and in the third column the basic number. The alphabetical order is determined by one or more words (keywords) marked in bold in each indication, whether master, synonym or spelling variant, e.g.:
Goods – B
Cl. Indication Basic No.
25 bathing suits 250126
Goods – S
Cl. Indication Basic No.
25 bathing suits 250126
25 swimsuits 250126
9. In the bilingual version (English/French), the list is presented in four columns, the fourth column containing the master indication in French of the English indication appearing in the second column, e.g.:
|
Goods – B
Cl. |
Indication (EN) |
Basic No. |
Indication (FR) |
|
25 |
bathing suits |
250126 |
maillots de bain |
|
Goods – S
Cl. |
Indication (EN) |
Basic No. |
Indication (FR) |
|
25 |
bathing suits |
250126 |
maillots de bain |
|
25 |
swimsuits |
250126 |
maillots de bain |
(iii) Asterisks and square brackets
10. The fact that a general term is given in the List of Goods and Services in relation to a particular class (covering certain goods or services) does not rule out the possibility of that term appearing also in connection with other classes (covering other goods or services), depending on the way in which the term is qualified. In such cases, the general term (e.g. clothing, paints) is marked with an asterisk. For the purposes of the registration of marks, it is highly recommended to avoid using the vague expressions or the general terms, which are not sufficiently qualified.
11. The fact that a good or service indication figures in the List of Goods and Services does not in any way prejudge the decisions of national industrial property offices as to the possibility of registering a mark for that good or service (see Article 2(1) of the Nice Agreement).
12. An expression between square brackets is in most cases intended to define more precisely the text preceding the brackets since the said text is ambiguous or too vague for classification purposes. Sometimes, the square brackets embrace the corresponding American expression of the text preceding the brackets, in most cases of which the expression is followed by “(Am)”.
Hierarchy
13. A “hierarchy” has been incorporated into NCLPUB and can be consulted when using the “Classes” tab in view mode “hierarchy” or “full”. The hierarchy[2] organizes goods or services that share some common characteristics in hierarchical groups within each class of the Nice Classification. The “hierarchy” mode of view shows the complete structure for each class, while the “full” mode of view shows that same structure with the goods and services of the Nice Classification arranged in each group.
14. It should be noted that the purpose of showing the hierarchy in NCLPUB is to provide the user with an additional tool that can assist him in searching for adequate terms to specify goods or services and in understanding what type of goods and services belong in each class. The hierarchy does not form part of the Nice Classification and is therefore not applied for the purposes of the registration of marks; it has no legal effect in trade mark examination or in the comparison of goods and services.
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