Trademark Law Treaty Done at Geneva on October 27, 1994
Article 1
Abbreviated Expressions
For the purposes of this Treaty, unless expressly stated otherwise:
(i) “Office” means the agency entrusted by a Contracting Party with the registration of marks;
(ii) “registration” means the registration of a mark by an Office;
(iii) “application” means an application for registration;
(iv) references to a “person” shall be construed as references to both a natural person and a legal entity;
(v) “holder” means the person whom the register of marks shows as the holder of the registration;
(vi) “register of marks” means the collection of data maintained by an Office, which includes the contents
of all registrations and all data recorded in respect of all registrations, irrespective of the medium in which
such data are stored;
(vii) “Paris Convention” means the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, signed at
Paris on March 20, 1883, as revised and amended;
(viii) “Nice Classification” means the classification established by the Nice Agreement Concerning the
International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks, signed at
Nice on June 15, 1957, as revised and amended;
(ix) “Contracting Party” means any State or intergovernmental organization party to this Treaty;
(x) references to an “instrument of ratification” shall be construed as including references to instruments
of acceptance and approval;
(xi) “Organization” means the World Intellectual Property Organization;
(xii) “Director General” means the Director General of the Organization;
(xiii) “Regulations” means the Regulations under this Treaty that are referred to in Article 17.
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Article 2
Marks to Which the Treaty Applies
(1) [Nature of Marks]
(a) This Treaty shall apply to marks consisting of visible signs, provided that only those Contracting
Parties which accept for registration three-dimensional marks shall be obliged to apply this Treaty to such
marks.
(b)This Treaty shall not apply to hologram marks and to marks not consisting of visible signs, in
particular, sound marks and olfactory marks.
(2) [Kinds of Marks]
(a)This Treaty shall apply to marks relating to goods (trademarks) or services (service marks) or both
goods and services.
(b)This Treaty shall not apply to collective marks, certification marks and guarantee marks.
Article 3
Application
(1) [Indications or Elements Contained in or Accompanying an Application; Fee]
(a)Any Contracting Party may require that an application contain some or all of the following
indications or elements:
(i) a request for registration;
(ii) the name and address of the applicant;
(iii) the name of a State of which the applicant is a national if he is the national of any State, the
name of a State in which the applicant has his domicile, if any, and the name of a State in which the
applicant has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, if any;
(iv) where the applicant is a legal entity, the legal nature of that legal entity and the State, and,
where applicable, the territorial unit within that State, under the law of which the said legal entity has
been organized;
(v) where the applicant has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(vi) where an address for service is required under Article 4(2)(b), such address;
(vii) where the applicant wishes to take advantage of the priority of an earlier application, a
declaration claiming the priority of that earlier application, together with indications and evidence in
support of the declaration of priority that may be required pursuant to Article 4 of the Paris
Convention;
(viii) where the applicant wishes to take advantage of any protection resulting from the display of
goods and/or services in an exhibition, a declaration to that effect, together with indications in support
of that declaration, as required by the law of the Contracting Party;
(ix) where the Office of the Contracting Party uses characters (letters and numbers) that it considers
as being standard and where the applicant wishes that the mark be registered and published in
standard characters, a statement to that effect;
(x) where the applicant wishes to claim color as a distinctive feature of the mark, a statement to
that effect as well as the name or names of the color or colors claimed and an indication, in respect of
each color, of the principal parts of the mark which are in that color;
(xi) where the mark is a three-dimensional mark, a statement to that effect;
(xii) one or more reproductions of the mark;
(xiii) a transliteration of the mark or of certain parts of the mark;
(xiv) a translation of the mark or of certain parts of the mark;
(xv) the names of the goods and/or services for which the registration is sought, grouped according
to the classes of the Nice Classification, each group preceded by the number of the class of that
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Classification to which that group of goods or services belongs and presented in the order of the
classes of the said Classification;
(xvi) a signature by the person specified in paragraph (4);
(xvii) a declaration of intention to use the mark, as required by the law of the Contracting Party.
(b) The applicant may file, instead of or in addition to the declaration of intention to use the mark
referred to in subparagraph (a)(xvii), a declaration of actual use of the mark and evidence to that effect, as
required by the law of the Contracting Party.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the application, fees be paid to the Office.
(2) [Presentation]
As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the application, no Contracting Party shall
refuse the application,
(i) where the application is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to
paragraph (3), on a form corresponding to the application Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile and the application is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal
corresponds, subject to paragraph (3), to the application Form referred to in item (i).
(3) [Language]
Any Contracting Party may require that the application be in the language, or in one of the languages,
admitted by the Office. Where the Office admits more than one language, the applicant may be required to
comply with any other language requirement applicable with respect to the Office, provided that the
application may not be required to be in more than one language.
(4) [Signature]
(a) The signature referred to in paragraph (1)(a)(xvi) may be the signature of the applicant or the
signature of his representative.
(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a), any Contracting Party may require that the declarations
referred to in paragraph (1)(a)(xvii) and (b) be signed by the applicant himself even if he has a
representative.
(5) [Single Application for Goods and/or Services in Several Classes]
One and the same application may relate to several goods and/or services, irrespective of whether they
belong to one class or to several classes of the Nice Classification.
(6) [Actual Use] Any Contracting Party may require that, where a declaration of intention to use has been
filed under paragraph (1)(a)(xvii), the applicant furnish to the Office within a time limit fixed in its law,
subject to the minimum time limit prescribed in the Regulations, evidence of the actual use of the mark, as
required by the said law.
(7) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (4) and (6) be complied with in respect of the application. In particular,
the following may not be required in respect of the application throughout its pendency:
(i) the furnishing of any certificate of, or extract from, a register of commerce;
(ii) an indication of the applicant’s carrying on of an industrial or commercial activity, as well as
the furnishing of evidence to that effect;
(iii) an indication of the applicant’s carrying on of an activity corresponding to the goods and/or
services listed in the application, as well as the furnishing of evidence to that effect;
(iv) the furnishing of evidence to the effect that the mark has been registered in the register of
marks of another Contracting Party or of a State party to the Paris Convention which is not a
Contracting Party, except where the applicant claims the application of Article 6quinquies of the Paris
Convention.
(8) [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office in the course
of the examination of the application where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication
or element contained in the application.
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Article 4
Representation; Address for Service
(1) [Representatives Admitted to Practice] Any Contracting Party may require that any person appointed
as representative for the purposes of any procedure before the Office be a representative admitted to practice
before the Office.
(2) [Mandatory Representation; Address for Service]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that, for the purposes of any procedure before the Office, any
person who has neither a domicile nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment on its
territory be represented by a representative.
(b) Any Contracting Party may, to the extent that it does not require representation in accordance with
subparagraph (a), require that, for the purposes of any procedure before the Office, any person who has
neither a domicile nor a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment on its territory have an
address for service on that territory.
(3) [Power of Attorney]
(a) Whenever a Contracting Party allows or requires an applicant, a holder or any other interested
person to be represented by a representative before the Office, it may require that the representative be
appointed in a separate communication (hereinafter referred to as “power of attorney”) indicating the name
of, and signed by, the applicant, the holder or the other person, as the case may be.
(b) The power of attorney may relate to one or more applications and/or registrations identified in the
power of attorney or, subject to any exception indicated by the appointing person, to all existing and future
applications and/or registrations of that person.
(c) The power of attorney may limit the powers of the representative to certain acts. Any Contracting
Party may require that any power of attorney under which the representative has the right to withdraw an
application or to surrender a registration contain an express indication to that effect.
(d) Where a communication is submitted to the Office by a person who refers to himself in the
communication as a representative but where the Office is, at the time of the receipt of the communication,
not in possession of the required power of attorney, the Contracting Party may require that the power of
attorney be submitted to the Office within the time limit fixed by the Contracting Party, subject to the
minimum time limit prescribed in the Regulations. Any Contracting Party may provide that, where the
power of attorney has not been submitted to the Office within the time limit fixed by the Contracting Party,
the communication by the said person shall have no effect.
(e) As regards the requirements concerning the presentation and contents of the power of attorney, no
Contracting Party shall refuse the effects of the power of attorney,
(i) where the power of attorney is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to
paragraph (4), on a form corresponding to the power of attorney Form provided for in the
Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile and the power of attorney is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such
transmittal corresponds, subject to paragraph (4), to the power of attorney Form referred to in
item (i).
(4) [Language] Any Contracting Party may require that the power of attorney be in the language, or in
one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(5) [Reference to Power of Attorney] Any Contracting Party may require that any communication made to
the Office by a representative for the purposes of a procedure before the Office contain a reference to the
power of attorney on the basis of which the representative acts.
(6) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (3) to (5) be complied with in respect of the matters dealt with in those
paragraphs.
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(7) [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the
Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in any communication referred to in
paragraphs (2) to (5).
Article 5
Filing Date
(1) [Permitted Requirements]
(a) Subject to subparagraph (b) and paragraph (2), a Contracting Party shall accord as the filing date
of an application the date on which the Office received the following indications and elements in the
language required under Article 3(3):
(i) an express or implicit indication that the registration of a mark is sought;
(ii) indications allowing the identity of the applicant to be established;
(iii) indications sufficient to contact the applicant or his representative, if any, by mail;
(iv) a sufficiently clear reproduction of the mark whose registration is sought;
(v) the list of the goods and/or services for which the registration is sought;
(vi) where Article 3(1)(a)(xvii) or (b) applies, the declaration referred to in Article 3(1)(a)(xvii) or
the declaration and evidence referred to in Article 3(1)(b), respectively, as required by the law of the
Contracting Party, those declarations being, if so required by the said law, signed by the applicant
himself even if he has a representative.
(b) Any Contracting Party may accord as the filing date of the application the date on which the
Office received only some, rather than all, of the indications and elements referred to in subparagraph (a) or
received them in a language other than the language required under HArticle 3(3).
(2) [Permitted Additional Requirement]
(a) A Contracting Party may provide that no filing date shall be accorded until the required fees are
paid.
(b) A Contracting Party may apply the requirement referred to in subparagraph (a) only if it applied
such requirement at the time of becoming party to this Treaty.
(3) [Corrections and Time Limits] The modalities of, and time limits for, corrections under paragraphs (1)
and (2) shall be fixed in the Regulations.
(4) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) be complied with in respect of the filing date.
Article 6
Single Registration for Goods
and/or Services in Several Classes
Where goods and/or services belonging to several classes of the Nice Classification have been
included in one and the same application, such an application shall result in one and the same registration.
Article 7
Division of Application and Registration
(1) [Division of Application]
(a) Any application listing several goods and/or services (hereinafter referred to as “initial
application”) may,
(i) at least until the decision by the Office on the registration of the mark,
(ii) during any opposition proceedings against the decision of the Office to register the mark,
(iii) during any appeal proceedings against the decision on the registration of the mark,
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be divided by the applicant or at his request into two or more applications (hereinafter referred to as
“divisional applications”) by distributing among the latter the goods and/or services listed in the
initial application. The divisional applications shall preserve the filing date of the initial application
and the benefit of the right of priority, if any.
(b) Any Contracting Party shall, subject to subparagraph (a), be free to establish requirements for the
division of an application, including the payment of fees.
(2) [Division of Registration] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, with respect to a division of a
registration. Such a division shall be permitted
(i) during any proceedings in which the validity of the registration is challenged before the Office
by a third party,
(ii) during any appeal proceedings against a decision taken by the Office during the former
proceedings, provided that a Contracting Party may exclude the possibility of the division of
registrations if its law allows third parties to oppose the registration of a mark before the mark is
registered.
Article 8
Signature
(1) [Communication on Paper] Where a communication to the Office of a Contracting Party is on paper
and a signature is required, that Contracting Party
(i) shall, subject to item (iii), accept a handwritten signature,
(ii) shall be free to allow, instead of a handwritten signature, the use of other forms of signature,
such as a printed or stamped signature, or the use of a seal,
(iii) may, where the natural person who signs the communication is its national and such person’s
address is in its territory, require that a seal be used instead of a handwritten signature,
(iv) may, where a seal is used, require that the seal be accompanied by an indication in letters of the
name of the natural person whose seal is used.
(2) [Communication by Telefacsimile]
(a) Where a Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile, it shall consider the communication signed if, on the printout produced by the telefacsimile,
the reproduction of the signature, or the reproduction of the seal together with, where required under
paragraph (1)(iv), the indication in letters of the name of the natural person whose seal is used, appears.
(b) The Contracting Party referred to in subparagraph (a) may require that the paper whose
reproduction was transmitted by telefacsimile be filed with the Office within a certain period, subject to the
minimum period prescribed in the Regulations.
(3) [Communication by Electronic Means] Where a Contracting Party allows the transmittal of
communications to the Office by electronic means, it shall consider the communication signed if the latter
identifies the sender of the communication by electronic means as prescribed by the Contracting Party.
(4) [Prohibition of Requirement of Certification] No Contracting Party may require the attestation,
notarization, authentication, legalization or other certification of any signature or other means of selfidentification referred to in the preceding paragraphs, except, if the law of the Contracting Party so provides,
where the signature concerns the surrender of a registration.
Article 9
Classification of Goods and/or Services
(1) [Indications of Goods and/or Services] Each registration and any publication effected by an Office
which concerns an application or registration and which indicates goods and/or services shall indicate the
goods and/or services by their names, grouped according to the classes of the Nice Classification, and each
group shall be preceded by the number of the class of that Classification to which that group of goods or
services belongs and shall be presented in the order of the classes of the said Classification.
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(2) [Goods or Services in the Same Class or in Different Classes]
(a) Goods or services may not be considered as being similar to each other on the ground that, in any
registration or publication by the Office, they appear in the same class of the Nice Classification.
(b) Goods or services may not be considered as being dissimilar from each other on the ground that, in
any registration or publication by the Office, they appear in different classes of the Nice Classification.
Article 10
Changes in Names or Addresses
(1) [Changes in the Name or Address of the Holder]
(a) Where there is no change in the person of the holder but there is a change in his name and/or
address, each Contracting Party shall accept that a request for the recordal of the change by the Office in its
register of marks be made in a communication signed by the holder or his representative and indicating the
registration number of the registration concerned and the change to be recorded. As regards the requirements
concerning the presentation of the request, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to
subparagraph (c), on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal
corresponds, subject to subparagraph (c), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate
(i) the name and address of the holder;
(ii) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(iii) where the holder has an address for service, such address.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that the request be in the language, or in one of the languages,
admitted by the Office.
(d) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request, a fee be paid to the Office.
(e) A single request shall be sufficient even where the change relates to more than one registration,
provided that the registration numbers of all registrations concerned are indicated in the request.
(2) [Change in the Name or Address of the Applicant] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis, where
the change concerns an application or applications, or both an application or applications and a registration
or registrations, provided that, where the application number of any application concerned has not yet been
issued or is not known to the applicant or his representative, the request otherwise identifies that application
as prescribed in the Regulations.
(3) [Change in the Name or Address of the Representative or in the Address for Service] Paragraph (1)
shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to any change in the name or address of the representative, if any, and to any
change relating to the address for service, if any.
(4) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this
Article. In particular, the furnishing of any certificate concerning the change may not be required.
(5) [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the
Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any indication contained in the request.
Article 11
Change in Ownership
(1) [Change in the Ownership of a Registration]
(a) Where there is a change in the person of the holder, each Contracting Party shall accept that a
request for the recordal of the change by the Office in its register of marks be made in a communication
signed by the holder or his representative, or by the person who acquired the ownership (hereinafter referred
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to as “new owner”) or his representative, and indicating the registration number of the registration
concerned and the change to be recorded. As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the
request, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to paragraph (2)(a),
on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal
corresponds, subject to paragraph (2)(a), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(b) Where the change in ownership results from a contract, any Contracting Party may require that the
request indicate that fact and be accompanied, at the option of the requesting party, by one of the following:
(i) a copy of the contract, which copy may be required to be certified, by a notary public or any
other competent public authority, as being in conformity with the original contract;
(ii) an extract of the contract showing the change in ownership, which extract may be required to
be certified, by a notary public or any other competent public authority, as being a true extract of the
contract;
(iii) an uncertified certificate of transfer drawn up in the form and with the content as prescribed in
the Regulations and signed by both the holder and the new owner;
(iv) an uncertified transfer document drawn up in the form and with the content as prescribed in the
Regulations and signed by both the holder and the new owner.
(c) Where the change in ownership results from a merger, any Contracting Party may require that the
request indicate that fact and be accompanied by a copy of a document, which document originates from the
competent authority and evidences the merger, such as a copy of an extract from a register of commerce, and
that that copy be certified by the authority which issued the document or by a notary public or any other
competent public authority, as being in conformity with the original document.
(d) Where there is a change in the person of one or more but not all of several co-holders and such
change in ownership results from a contract or a merger, any Contracting Party may require that any coholder in respect of which there is no change in ownership give his express consent to the change in
ownership in a document signed by him.
(e) Where the change in ownership does not result from a contract or a merger but from another
ground, for example, from operation of law or a court decision, any Contracting Party may require that the
request indicate that fact and be accompanied by a copy of a document evidencing the change and that that
copy be certified as being in conformity with the original document by the authority which issued the
document or by a notary public or any other competent public authority.
(f) Any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate
(i) the name and address of the holder;
(ii) the name and address of the new owner;
(iii) the name of a State of which the new owner is a national if he is the national of any State, the
name of a State in which the new owner has his domicile, if any, and the name of a State in which the
new owner has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, if any;
(iv) where the new owner is a legal entity, the legal nature of that legal entity and the State, and,
where applicable, the territorial unit within that State, under the law of which the said legal entity has
been organized;
(v) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(vi) where the holder has an address for service, such address;
(vii) where the new owner has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(viii) where the new owner is required to have an address for service under Article 4(2)(b), such
address.
(g) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request, a fee be paid to the Office.
(h) A single request shall be sufficient even where the change relates to more than one registration,
provided that the holder and the new owner are the same for each registration and that the registration
numbers of all registrations concerned are indicated in the request.
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(i) Where the change of ownership does not affect all the goods and/or services listed in the holder’s
registration, and the applicable law allows the recording of such change, the Office shall create a separate
registration referring to the goods and/or services in respect of which the ownership has changed.
(2) [Language; Translation]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that the request, the certificate of transfer or the transfer
document referred to in paragraph (1) be in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that, if the documents referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(i) and
(ii), (c) and (e) are not in the language, or in one of the languages, admitted by the Office, the request be
accompanied by a translation or a certified translation of the required document in the language, or in one of
the languages, admitted by the Office.
(3) [Change in the Ownership of an Application] Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply, mutatis mutandis,
where the change in ownership concerns an application or applications, or both an application or
applications and a registration or registrations, provided that, where the application number of any
application concerned has not yet been issued or is not known to the applicant or his representative, the
request otherwise identifies that application as prescribed in the Regulations.
(4) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this
Article. In particular, the following may not be required:
(i) subject to paragraph (1)(c), the furnishing of any certificate of, or extract from, a register of
commerce;
(ii) an indication of the new owner’s carrying on of an industrial or commercial activity, as well as
the furnishing of evidence to that effect;
(iii) an indication of the new owner’s carrying on of an activity corresponding to the goods and/or
services affected by the change in ownership, as well as the furnishing of evidence to either effect;
(iv) an indication that the holder transferred, entirely or in part, his business or the relevant
goodwill to the new owner, as well as the furnishing of evidence to either effect.
(5) [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence, or further evidence where
paragraph (1)(c) or (e) applies, be furnished to the Office where that Office may reasonably doubt the
veracity of any indication contained in the request or in any document referred to in the present Article.
Article 12
Correction of a Mistake
(1) [Correction of a Mistake in Respect of a Registration]
(a) Each Contracting Party shall accept that the request for the correction of a mistake which was
made in the application or other request communicated to the Office and which mistake is reflected in its
register of marks and/or any publication by the Office be made in a communication signed by the holder or
his representative and indicating the registration number of the registration concerned, the mistake to be
corrected and the correction to be entered. As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the
request, no Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to
subparagraph (c), on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal
corresponds, subject to subparagraph (c), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that the request indicate
(i) the name and address of the holder;
(ii) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(iii) where the holder has an address for service, such address.
(c) Any Contracting Party may require that the request be in the language, or in one of the languages,
admitted by the Office.
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(d) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request, a fee be paid to the Office.
(e) A single request shall be sufficient even where the correction relates to more than one registration
of the same person, provided that the mistake and the requested correction are the same for each registration
and that the registration numbers of all registrations concerned are indicated in the request.
(2) [Correction of a Mistake in Respect of an Application] Paragraph (1) shall apply, mutatis mutandis,
where the mistake concerns an application or applications, or both an application or applications and a
registration or registrations, provided that, where the application number of any application concerned has
not yet been issued or is not known to the applicant or his representative, the request otherwise identifies
that application as prescribed in the Regulations.
(3) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) be complied with in respect of the request referred to in this
Article.
(4) [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office where the
Office may reasonably doubt that the alleged mistake is in fact a mistake.
(5) [Mistakes Made by the Office] The Office of a Contracting Party shall correct its own mistakes, ex
officio or upon request, for no fee.
(6) [Uncorrectable Mistakes] No Contracting Party shall be obliged to apply paragraphs (1), (2) and (5)
to any mistake which cannot be corrected under its law.
Article 13
Duration and Renewal of Registration
(1) [Indications or Elements Contained in or Accompanying a Request for Renewal; Fee]
(a) Any Contracting Party may require that the renewal of a registration be subject to the filing of a
request and that such request contain some or all of the following indications:
(i) an indication that renewal is sought;
(ii) the name and address of the holder;
(iii) the registration number of the registration concerned;
(iv) at the option of the Contracting Party, the filing date of the application which resulted in the
registration concerned or the registration date of the registration concerned;
(v) where the holder has a representative, the name and address of that representative;
(vi) where the holder has an address for service, such address;
(vii) where the Contracting Party allows the renewal of a registration to be made for some only of
the goods and/or services which are recorded in the register of marks and such a renewal is requested,
the names of the recorded goods and/or services for which the renewal is requested or the names of
the recorded goods and/or services for which the renewal is not requested, grouped according to the
classes of the Nice Classification, each group preceded by the number of the class of that
Classification to which that group of goods or services belongs and presented in the order of the
classes of the said Classification;
(viii) where a Contracting Party allows a request for renewal to be filed by a person other than the
holder or his representative and the request is filed by such a person, the name and address of that
person;
(ix) a signature by the holder or his representative or, where item (viii) applies, a signature by the
person referred to in that item.
(b) Any Contracting Party may require that, in respect of the request for renewal, a fee be paid to the
Office. Once the fee has been paid in respect of the initial period of the registration or of any renewal
period, no further payment may be required for the maintenance of the registration in respect of that period.
Fees associated with the furnishing of a declaration and/or evidence of use shall not be regarded, for the
purposes of this subparagraph, as payments required for the maintenance of the registration and shall not be
affected by this subparagraph.
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(c) Any Contracting Party may require that the request for renewal be presented, and the
corresponding fee referred to in subparagraph (b) be paid, to the Office within the period fixed by the law of
the Contracting Party, subject to the minimum periods prescribed in the Regulations.
(2) [Presentation] As regards the requirements concerning the presentation of the request for renewal, no
Contracting Party shall refuse the request,
(i) where the request is presented in writing on paper, if it is presented, subject to paragraph (3),
on a form corresponding to the request Form provided for in the Regulations,
(ii) where the Contracting Party allows the transmittal of communications to the Office by
telefacsimile and the request is so transmitted, if the paper copy resulting from such transmittal
corresponds, subject to paragraph (3), to the request Form referred to in item (i).
(3) [Language] Any Contracting Party may require that the request for renewal be in the language, or in
one of the languages, admitted by the Office.
(4) [Prohibition of Other Requirements] No Contracting Party may demand that requirements other than
those referred to in paragraphs (1) to (3) be complied with in respect of the request for renewal. In
particular, the following may not be required:
(i) any reproduction or other identification of the mark;
(ii) the furnishing of evidence to the effect that the mark has been registered, or that its registration
has been renewed, in the register of marks of any other Contracting Party;
(iii) the furnishing of a declaration and/or evidence concerning use of the mark.
(5) [Evidence] Any Contracting Party may require that evidence be furnished to the Office in the course
of the examination of the request for renewal where the Office may reasonably doubt the veracity of any
indication or element contained in the request for renewal.
(6) [Prohibition of Substantive Examination] No Office of a Contracting Party may, for the purposes of
effecting the renewal, examine the registration as to substance.
(7) [Duration] The duration of the initial period of the registration, and the duration of each renewal
period, shall be 10 years.
Article 14
Observations in Case of Intended Refusal
An application or a request under Articles 10 to 13 may not be refused totally or in part by an Office
without giving the applicant or the requesting party, as the case may be, an opportunity to make observations
on the intended refusal within a reasonable time limit.
Article 15
Obligation to Comply with the Paris Convention
Any Contracting Party shall comply with the provisions of the Paris Convention which concern
marks.
Article 16
Service Marks
Any Contracting Party shall register service marks and apply to such marks
the provisions of the Paris Convention which concern trademarks.
Article 17
Regulations
(1) [Content]
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(a) The Regulations annexed to this Treaty provide rules concerning
(i) matters which this Treaty expressly provides to be “prescribed in the Regulations”;
(ii) any details useful in the implementation of the provisions of this Treaty;
(iii) any administrative requirements, matters or procedures.
(b) The Regulations also contain Model International Forms.
(2) [Conflict Between the Treaty and the Regulations] In the case of conflict between the provisions of
this Treaty and those of the Regulations, the former shall prevail.
Article 18
Revision; Protocols
(1) [Revision] This Treaty may be revised by a diplomatic conference.
(2) [Protocols] For the purposes of further developing the harmonization of laws on marks, protocols may
be adopted by a diplomatic conference in so far as those protocols do not contravene the provisions of this
Treaty.
Article 19
Becoming Party to the Treaty
(1) [Eligibility] The following entities may sign and, subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) and Article 20(1)
and (3), become party to this Treaty:
(i) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered with its own
Office;
(ii) any intergovernmental organization which maintains an Office in which marks may be
registered with effect in the territory in which the constituting treaty of the intergovernmental
organization applies, in all its member States or in those of its member States which are designated for
such purpose in the relevant application, provided that all the member States of the intergovernmental
organization are members of the Organization;
(iii) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered only
through the Office of another specified State that is a member of the Organization;
(iv) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered only
through the Office maintained by an intergovernmental organization of which that State is a member;
(v) any State member of the Organization in respect of which marks may be registered only
through an Office common to a group of States members of the Organization.
(2) [Ratification or Accession] Any entity referred to in paragraph (1) may deposit
(i) an instrument of ratification, if it has signed this Treaty,
(ii) an instrument of accession, if it has not signed this Treaty.
(3) [Effective Date of Deposit]
(a) Subject to subparagraph (b), the effective date of the deposit of an instrument of ratification or
accession shall be,
(i) in the case of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(i), the date on which the instrument of that
State is deposited;
(ii) in the case of an intergovernmental organization, the date on which the instrument of that
intergovernmental organization is deposited;
(iii) in the case of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(iii), the date on which the following condition
is fulfilled: the instrument of that State has been deposited and the instrument of the other, specified
State has been deposited;
(iv) in the case of a State referred to in paragraph (1)(iv), the date applicable under (ii), above;
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(v) in the case of a State member of a group of States referred to in paragraph (1)(v), the date on
which the instruments of all the States members of the group have been deposited.
(b) Any instrument of ratification or accession (referred to in this subparagraph as “instrument”) of a
State may be accompanied by a declaration making it a condition to its being considered as deposited that
the instrument of one other State or one intergovernmental organization, or the instruments of two other
States, or the instruments of one other State and one intergovernmental organization, specified by name and
eligible to become party to this Treaty, is or are also deposited. The instrument containing such a declaration
shall be considered to have been deposited on the day on which the condition indicated in the declaration is
fulfilled. However, when the deposit of any instrument specified in the declaration is, itself, accompanied by
a declaration of the said kind, that instrument shall be considered as deposited on the day on which the
condition specified in the latter declaration is fulfilled.
(c) Any declaration made under paragraph (b) may be withdrawn, in its entirety or in part, at any time.
Any such withdrawal shall become effective on the date on which the notification of withdrawal is received
by the Director General.
Article 20
Effective Date of Ratifications and Accessions
(1) [Instruments to Be Taken Into Consideration] For the purposes of this Article, only instruments of
ratification or accession that are deposited by entities referred to in Article 19(1) and that have an effective
date according to Article 19(3) shall be taken into consideration.
(2) [Entry Into Force of the Treaty] This Treaty shall enter into force three months after five States have
deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.
(3) [Entry Into Force of Ratifications and Accessions Subsequent to the Entry Into Force of the Treaty ]
Any entity not covered by paragraph (2) shall become bound by this Treaty three months after the date on
which it has deposited its instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 21
Reservations
(1) [Special Kinds of Marks] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare through a
reservation that, notwithstanding Article 2(1)(a) and (2)(a), any of the provisions of Articles 3(1) and (2), 5,
7, 11 and 13 shall not apply to associated marks, defensive marks or derivative marks. Such reservation shall
specify those of the aforementioned provisions to which the reservation relates.
(2) [Modalities] Any reservation under paragraph (1) shall be made in a declaration accompanying the
instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Treaty of the State or intergovernmental organization
making the reservation.
(3) [Withdrawal] Any reservation under paragraph (1) may be withdrawn at any time.
(4) [Prohibition of Other Reservations] No reservation to this Treaty other than the reservation allowed
under paragraph (1) shall be permitted.
Article 22
Transitional Provisions
(1) [Single Application for Goods and Services in Several Classes; Division of Application]
(a) Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 3(5), an
application may be filed with the Office only in respect of goods or services which belong to one class of the
Nice Classification.
(b) Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 6, where
goods and/or services belonging to several classes of the Nice Classification have been included in one and
the same application, such application shall result in two or more registrations in the register of marks,
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provided that each and every such registration shall bear a reference to all other such registrations resulting
from the said application.
(c) Any State or intergovernmental organization that has made a declaration under subparagraph (a)
may declare that, notwithstanding Article 7(1), no application may be divided.
(2) [Single Power of Attorney for More Than One Application and/or Registration] Any State or
intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 4(3)(b), a power of attorney may
only relate to one application or one registration.
(3) [Prohibition of Requirement of Certification of Signature of Power of Attorney and of Signature of
Application] Any State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 8(4),
the signature of a power of attorney or the signature by the applicant of an application may be required to be
the subject of an attestation, notarization, authentication, legalization or other certification.
(4) [Single Request for More Than One Application and/or Registration in Respect of a Change in Name
and/or Address, a Change in Ownership or a Correction of a Mistake] Any State or intergovernmental
organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 10(1)(e), (2) and (3), Article 11(1)(h) and (3) and
Article 12(1)(e) and (2), a request for the recordal of a change in name and/or address, a request for the
recordal of a change in ownership and a request for the correction of a mistake may only relate to one
application or one registration.
(5) [Furnishing, on the Occasion of Renewal, of Declaration and/or Evidence Concerning Use] Any
State or intergovernmental organization may declare that, notwithstanding Article 13(4)(iii), it will require,
on the occasion of renewal, the furnishing of a declaration and/or of evidence concerning use of the mark.
(6) [Substantive Examination on the Occasion of Renewal] Any State or intergovernmental organization
may declare that, notwithstanding Article 13(6), the Office may, on the occasion of the first renewal of a
registration covering services, examine such registration as to substance, provided that such examination
shall be limited to the elimination of multiple registrations based on applications filed during a period of six
months following the entry into force of the law of such State or organization that introduced, before the
entry into force of this Treaty, the possibility of registering service marks.
(7) [Common Provisions]
(a) A State or an intergovernmental organization may make a declaration under paragraphs (1) to (6)
only if, at the time of depositing its instrument of ratification of, or accession to, this Treaty, the continued
application of its law would, without such a declaration, be contrary to the relevant provisions of this Treaty.
(b) Any declaration under paragraphs (1) to (6) shall accompany the instrument of ratification of, or
accession to, this Treaty of the State or intergovernmental organization making the declaration.
(c) Any declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (6) may be withdrawn at any time.
(8) [Loss of Effect of Declaration]
(a) Subject to subparagraph (c), any declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (5) by a State regarded
as a developing country in conformity with the established practice of the General Assembly of the United
Nations, or by an intergovernmental organization each member of which is such a State, shall lose its effect
at the end of a period of eight years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty.
(b) Subject to subparagraph (c), any declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (5) by a State other than
a State referred to in subparagraph (a), or by an intergovernmental organization other than an
intergovernmental organization referred to in subparagraph (a), shall lose its effect at the end of a period of
six years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty.
(c) Where a declaration made under paragraphs (1) to (5) has not been withdrawn under
paragraph (7)(c), or has not lost its effect under subparagraph (a) or (b), before October 28, 2004, it shall
lose its effect on October 28, 2004.
(9) [Becoming Party to the Treaty] Until December 31, 1999, any State which, on the date of the adoption
of this Treaty, is a member of the International (Paris) Union for the Protection of Industrial Property
without being a member of the Organization may, notwithstanding Article 19(1)(i), become a party to this
Treaty if marks may be registered with its own Office.
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Article 23
Denunciation of the Treaty
(1) [Notification] Any Contracting Party may denounce this Treaty by notification addressed to the
Director General.
(2) [Effective Date] Denunciation shall take effect one year from the date on which the Director General
has received the notification. It shall not affect the application of this Treaty to any application pending or
any mark registered in respect of the denouncing Contracting Party at the time of the expiration of the said
one-year period, provided that the denouncing Contracting Party may, after the expiration of the said oneyear period, discontinue applying this Treaty to any registration as from the date on which that registration is
due for renewal.
Article 24
Languages of the Treaty; Signature
(1) [Original Texts; Official Texts]
(a) This Treaty shall be signed in a single original in the English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian
and Spanish languages, all texts being equally authentic.
(b) At the request of a Contracting Party, an official text in a language not referred to in
subparagraph (a) that is an official language of that Contracting Party shall be established by the Director
General after consultation with the said Contracting Party and any other interested Contracting Party.
(2) [Time Limit for Signature] This Treaty shall remain open for signature at the headquarters of the
Organization for one year after its adoption.
Article 25
Depositary
The Director General shall be the depositary of this Treaty
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