Classification of Similar Goods and Services (based on the tenth edition of the Nice Classification).pdf (1) The history of China's commodity classification

As we all know, a trademark is a sign to distinguish the source of goods or services, and every registered trademark is designated for a certain product or service. If you think of Changhong, people will think of color television; Mention Moutai, people will think of wine; When it comes to Megabin, people think of cosmetics and so on. It should be said that trademarks that exist independently of goods or services do not exist. Therefore, when applying for trademark registration, the correct expression of the goods or services to be specified and the category to which they belong is the first problem that the trademark applicant (agent) will encounter. Many different departments classify commodities for administrative, statistical and other purposes. For example, from the perspective of national economic management, commodities are usually divided into industrial products and agricultural products, industrial products are divided into heavy industry products and light industrial products, heavy industry products can be divided into metallurgical industrial products, machinery industrial products and so on. National trademark authorities also need to classify goods for the purposes of trademark registration and administration. Trademark registration and management should be said to be a huge and complex system project, and the classification of goods and services is a basic work of the Trademark Office. At present, there are more than 700,000 registered trademarks in China, if there is no scientific classification management system, we want to pull and query. Looking up a logo is almost impossible, like looking for a needle in a haystack. It is for the needs of trademark search, review and management that some goods with common attributes are combined together and classified into a class, and all goods and services are divided into 45 categories, forming the "classification of goods and services for trademark registration" described here. For example, "industrial oils and greases, lubricants, articles for absorbing, spraying and binding dust, fuels (including gasoline for motors) and illuminants, candles, wicks", etc., are combined to form a class (Class 4); For example, "surgical, medical, dental and veterinary instruments and instruments, artificial limbs, eyes and teeth, orthopaedic articles, suture materials" are grouped together to form another class (Class 10). The Trademark Office's search and retrieval system is established according to the category of goods and services; The Trademark Announcement shall be arranged according to categories; The applicant shall apply for trademark registration according to the class; The trademark registration certificate issued by the Trademark Office to the registrant must also indicate the goods or services and the category to which they belong. Commodity classification is also the basic unit for applying for trademark registration and paying fees. That is, a trademark applies for registration in a category to go through a procedure and pay a basic fee. If an applicant applies for registration of trademarks on medical chemicals, proprietary Chinese medicines, Chinese medicinal materials, medicinal wine, medical nutrition items, air purification preparations, veterinary drugs, pesticides, sanitary napkins, dental fillers, although there are as many as ten designated commodities, but because these commodities are in the same category (5 categories), only one procedure is required and a basic fee is paid (that is, a standard class). Although the trademark applied for registration by another enterprise only needs to be used in painting pens and painting pigments, it needs to fill out two applications, apply separately in two categories, and pay two basic fees, because these two commodities belong to two categories, that is, painting pens belong to category 16 and painting pigments belong to category 2. In the past, it was the trademark authorities of each country according to their national conditions and understanding of the commodity, to formulate their own commodity classification table for the trademark authorities and trademark registration applicants to use. Commodity classification lists are not set in stone. It will be gradually increased and revised with the abundance of goods and people's understanding of goods. Since 1923, China has formulated and published five commodity classification tables. By the 1950s, the world economy had achieved great development and international exchanges had become more frequent. Some countries believe that the use of their respective commodity classification tables can no longer adapt to the international connection of trademark affairs, which brings trouble to trademark owners to register abroad, and is not conducive to the development of the trademark industry and economic development. The trademark authorities of these countries considered it necessary to have an internationally uniform classification of goods for the registration of trademarks. This led to the Nice Agreement.

(2) Development and current situation of the International Classification of Goods and Services for trademark registration

The Nice Agreement is an international convention with the participation of many countries, whose full name is the Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Registration of Marks. The agreement was signed in the southern French city of Nice on June 15, 1957, and entered into force on April 8, 1961. The number of member States of the Nice Agreement has now grown to 65. My country joined the Nice Union on 9 August 1994. The purpose of the Nice Agreement is to establish a common system of international classification of goods and services for the purposes of trademark registration and to ensure its implementation. At present, the international classification includes a total of 45 categories, including 34 categories of goods and 11 categories of services, including a total of more than 10,000 goods and services. The goods and services required by the applicant are generally included in the list. This classification is not only used by all Member States of the Nice Union, but also by non-Member States of the Nice Union. The difference is that members of the Nice Union can participate in the revision of the classification table, while non-member states have no right to participate. At present, more than 130 countries and regions in the world have adopted this classification table. Since November 1, 1988, China has adopted international classification, which has greatly facilitated the trademark applicants, more standardized the management of the trademark authorities, and closely connected the international trademark affairs. Especially since China joined the Nice Agreement in 1994, we have actively participated in the revision and improvement of the Nice classification, and have added a number of goods with Chinese characteristics to the Nice classification. The Nice classification table is generally revised every five years, one is to add new goods, and the other is to adjust the goods already listed in the classification table according to a new perspective, in order to have more intrinsic unity of the goods. The classification table we are currently using is the ninth version, which has been in effect since January 1, 2007. The Nice Classification Table consists of two parts, one is the classification of goods and services by category, and the other is the classification of goods and services in alphabetical order. The classification table by category ranks goods and services in order of 1-45 categories. Each category has a category number and title, the title of each category summarizes the characteristics and scope of the goods contained in this category, and finally lists all the goods or services included in this category, and each commodity or service has a serial number for easy lookup. In addition, each category has a note that explains which products are mainly included in this category, how this category is different from the related categories of goods, and how to divide the categories of marginal goods. This note is very helpful in dividing the categories of some easily confused goods. For example, the third category is entitled "Bleach and other materials for laundry, preparations for cleaning, polishing, stain removal and grinding, soaps, fragrances, essential oils, cosmetics, perfumes, toothpastes, dental powder." This category mainly includes bathing supplies and cosmetics. In particular: personal deodorant; Cosmetic hygiene products. In particular, it does not include: chemicals for cleaning chimneys (category I); Stain removal supplies used in the production process (Category I); Deodorant for non-personal use (Category 5); Grinding stone or hand grinding wheel (Class 8).

The other section is an alphabetical list of categories of goods and services. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) publishes a list of goods and services classified in English and French. China's trademark authorities have also printed a list of goods and services arranged in alphabetical order. Using this table to look up general product categories is as convenient as looking up a dictionary. For example, a company producing TV sets and video cameras, to apply for trademark registration on these two goods, according to the Chinese pinyin order, it is easy to find that these two goods belong to the 9th class; For example, a food production enterprise to apply for trademark registration on milk and ice cream, with the help of this table, you can also quickly find that these two commodities belong to Class 29 (milk) and Class 30 (ice cream).

(3) Principles for classifying goods and services

When the World Intellectual Property Organization classifies goods and services, it generally follows the following principles, and when the national management authorities and applicants encounter goods and services that are not on the classification table and need to be classified, they can also be classified according to the following criteria 1. Goods (1) Manufactured goods are, in principle, classified according to their functions and uses, and if the classification table does not specify the classification criteria, the manufactured goods are classified in the same category as other similar manufactured goods in the alphabetical classification table, or can be classified according to the auxiliary classification criteria, that is, according to the materials of these manufactured goods or their mode of operation; (2) Multifunctional composite products (such as clocks and radio sets) may be classified according to the functions or uses of the components of the product in different categories corresponding to those functions or uses, and if these criteria are not specified in the class table, the criteria indicated in article (1) may be applied; (3) Raw materials, unprocessed products or semi-finished products are classified in principle according to the raw materials of which they are composed; (4) A commodity constitutes a part of other commodities and is in principle classified with other commodities, but such similar commodities cannot be used for other purposes under normal circumstances. All other cases are classified according to the above criteria (1); (5) When the finished product or semi-finished product is classified according to the raw materials of its composition, if it is made of several different raw materials, in principle, it is classified according to its main raw materials; (6) Containers such as boxes and boxes used to hold goods are, in principle, classified in the same category as the goods. 2. Services (1) Services are classified in principle according to the industry divided by the name of the service classification class and its notes, and similar services can also be classified in the same category according to the alphabetical classification table; (2) The services of the rental industry, in principle, are classified in the same category as the services achieved through the rental of goods (such as rental telephones, classified in 38 categories); (3) Services providing advice, information or advice are, in principle, classified in the same category as the business involved in providing the service, e.g. transport advice (category 39), business management advice (category 35), financial advice (category 36), beauty advice (category 44). The provision of advice, information or advice by electronic means (e.g. telephone, computer) does not affect the classification of such services.

(4) Filling in the name of goods and services

Trade name is one of the important contents of the whole trademark registration work, which determines the scope of registered trademark protection. Therefore, when applying for trademark registration, it is necessary to specify the name of the specific goods and services. In addition, the goods or services listed in an application can only be limited to one category. The trade name should be specific, accurate and standardized in order to clearly specify the scope of protection of the trademark. In the "Similar goods and services Division Table", there are notes for each category, and the goods or services are divided into different groups, and the annotated part and group name cannot be filled in when applying for trademark registration, such as 2907 milk and dairy products, 4301 provides catering and accommodation services. In general, when a commodity has a regular name in the commodity classification table, the standard name in the classification table should be used. Some of the customary commodity terms in People's Daily life are not allowed to be used when applying for trademark registration. Such as "household appliances", because it includes an excessive scope, involving at least five categories of goods in the commodity classification table. For example, the seventh type of washing machine, household electric mill; Electric shavers of the eighth class; The ninth type of electric iron, electric hair curlers; Electric massagers of the tenth class; Type 11 refrigerators, electric water heaters, etc. Such cases are also "plastic products", "leather products" and so on. The use of the standardized names of goods and services in the "Similar Goods and Services" can help speed up the registration process of trademarks and ensure that applicants obtain the exclusive right to use trademarks in a timely manner.