Changes Comment The National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) recently announced that, as of January 4 2017, it will apply the 11th edition of the Nice Classification for Goods and Services to all new trademark applications. As a result, INAPI's online classification tool will reflect the latest version of the Nice Classification.

Changes

The main changes are to the headings of 15 classes and the explanatory notes of another seven. For example, "collars, leashes and clothing for animals" have been added to the Class 18 headings.

Further, some obsolete goods have been deleted (eg, "headache pencils" in Class 5) and others have been reclassified (eg, "medicated soaps" in Classes 3 to 5).

Finally, the following new goods and services have been included:

  • "smart rings" and "humanoid robots with artificial intelligence" in Class 9;
  • "guacamole" and "falafel" in Class 29;
  • "dulce de leche" and "hot dog sandwiches" in Class 30;
  • "training services provided via simulators" and the "rental of artwork" in Class 41;
  • the "unlocking of mobile phones" and "electronic monitoring of credit card activity to detect fraud via the internet" in Class 42; and
  • "conducting religious ceremonies" and "dog walking services" in Class 45.

INAPI will offer free workshops in April 2017 for any interested parties, in which the changes to the new edition of the Nice Classification will be analysed in detail.

Comment

By adopting the 11th edition of the Nice Classification, INAPI now maintains the same standards as the World Intellectual Property Organisation, even though Chile is not a signatory of the Nice Arrangement. This upgrade means that international applications can be filed in Chile using the same or similar descriptions of goods and services, thus providing improved international protection for trademarks.

For further information on this topic please contact Juan Pablo Zamora Iturra ?at Montt y Cia SA by telephone (+56 22 233 8266) or email ([email protected]). The Montt y Cia SA website can be accessed at www.monttcia.cl.

This article was first published by the International Law Office, a premium online legal update service for major companies and law firms worldwide. Register for a free subscription.