A new edition of the Nice Classification system for international trademark registration will become available on 1 January 2023. We outline the changes and their implications for trademark applicants.
To register an international trademark registration (IR), you must specify the classes of goods and/or services for which you intend to use your trademark. These are specified according to an internationally recognised classification of goods and services (the Nice Classification), consisting of 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services. Among other things, this classification system is used to facilitate prior examination of trademark availability. A new edition of the Nice Classification system (the twelfth edition) will become available on 1 January 2023.
International trademark registration classification: Moving with the times
The landmark IP translator ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) codified into EU law the obligation to define goods and services with sufficient clarity and precision. For instance, the term ‘machinery’ would not be considered clear enough for a registration in Class 7, whereas the term ‘agricultural machinery’ would be. Read more