Changes in China: retail and wholesale services
According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a new version of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification) entered into force on January 1, 2013. The new version includes a number of changes. On November 26, 2012, the China Trademark Office (CTMO) online published a notice concerning preparation for adoption of the new version from the same date.
The CTMO has a self-edited Classification of Similar Goods and Services for Registration of Marks in China (Classification Book) by adoption of almost all goods or services listed in the Nice Classification and addition of some Chinese-characteristic goods which do not appear in the Nice Classification.
The CTMO had not previously accepted the term “retail or wholesale services”, so applicants in pursuit of protection for those services had instead, before applying, designated alternative acceptable services terms such as “business information”, “marketing”, “import-export agencies”, “sales promotion for others”, “procurement services for others [purchasing goods and services for other business]”, “presentation of goods on communication media for retail purposes”, which appear in the Classification Book.
Alternatively, after office actions arose, applicants amended the originally designated “retail or wholesale services” to be those substitute services.
Now, applicants may have more options. The new version of the Nice Classification includes the newly added “retail or wholesale services for pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary preparations and medical supplies”. On December 14, 2012, the CTMO online published a “notification about mark applications in respect of newly added retail or wholesale services”. In the notification, the CTMO makes clear explanations as follows.
The newly-added services
Based on the new version of the Nice Classification, the CTMO has set up a new subclass 3509 in Class 35 in the Classification Book to include the following acceptable service terms:
