WIPO Cooperates with the EUIPO on Classification Terms under the Madrid System

October 28, 2021

Over the past two years, WIPO has collaborated closely with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) on the alignment of the European Union’s (EU) Harmonised Database of goods and services and WIPO's Madrid Goods & Services Manager.

The Madrid Goods & Services Manager and the Harmonised Database in Brief

The Madrid Goods & Services Manager and the Harmonised Database are online services designed to assist trademark applicants and their representatives in compiling the lists of goods and services that they need to submit when filing international applications under the Madrid System.

Both services are available in at least 25 languages. The Madrid Goods & Services Manager allows users to check the acceptance of specific terms for 40 designated Contracting Parties, while the Harmonised Database covers over 40 IP Offices across the world, including all the EU offices.

Continuous Improvements through Cooperation

Taking into account the interest of trademark applicants in knowing whether a given term that they wish to use to identify a good or service will be accepted by a specific Contracting Party, WIPO and EUIPO have collaborated on aligning the terms indexed in both databases to ascertain their acceptability.

WIPO’s cooperation with EUIPO focuses on seven languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. On a regular basis, EUIPO shares with WIPO a list of goods and services where discrepancies in translation are detected in any of those languages, as well as a list of new Harmonised Database terms.

Benefits for Users of the Madrid System

The collaboration on classification between EUIPO and WIPO has significantly reduced inconsistencies between both databases.

By being able to check acceptability of specific terms from an up to date and accurate list, users face fewer opportunities to receive irregularity notices because of unacceptable goods and services and incorrect classification.

This ultimately reduces the burden on users and makes the international trademark registration process a smoother exercise.

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