IPOPHL to adopt EU classification system
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has announced its plan to use the European Union’s (EU) goods and services trademark classification system to enhance the country’s business trademark application process.
The agency disclosed that the EU’s database has 78,000 terms describing the nature of a good or service, which is part of the trademark application process. It also integrates the most updated version of the Nice Classification (NCL) to align the local system with global trademark filing.
IPOPHL said that this new system “will set the limits of the trademark protection sought for and help IP offices determine whether a mark is confusingly similar to another, a conflict which is grounds for rejection.”
