Trademarks are used to distinguish goods and services of companies. The classification of goods and services is defined by the International treaty known as "Nice Classification" or "International Classification of Goods and Services". Every five years the Nice Classification is revised.
Accession to the Geneva Act 1999 by Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany acceded to the 1999 Act (Geneva) of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of industrial designs on November 13, 2009. The maximum duration of protection for industrial designs will be 25 years.
The 1999 Act will enter into force on February 13, 2010. The number of contracting parties to the 1999 Act is now 37, the total number of contracting parties to the Hague Agreement remains 56.
The Hague System enables owners of industrial designs to obtain protection for their design in a number of countries or intergovernmental organizations by simply filing only one single application at the International Bureau of the WIPO (one international procedure for a bundle of protective rights in each designated contracting party).