Vienna Classification

RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING THE APPLICATION OF THE

VIENNA CLASSIFICATION

The Committee of Experts set up under Article 5 of the Vienna Agreement recommended, at its sessions in May 1987, June 1992 and October 1996, to the member countries of the Vienna Union that they apply, in their official documents and publications relating to registrations and renewals of marks, the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks in the following manner:

(a)

The numbers of the category and division, and of the division and section should be separated by a point, and the numbers of two different sections by a comma (e.g., Category 3, Division 9, Sections 10, 24 and 25 should be written as follows: CFE 3.9.10,24,25)*; moreover, a dash will be used to indicate an uninterrupted range of sections (e.g., Category 3, Division 9, Sections 16 to 18 should be written as follows: CFE 3.9.16-18); if the numbers of the sections are not included in the classification, the numbers of categories and divisions should still be separated by a point (e.g., Category 3, Division 9 should be written as follows: CFE 3.9).

* 

The Committee of Experts, at its session in May 1987, determined that the abbreviation referred to in Article 4(4) of the Vienna Agreement and which is to precede the classification numbers where a country chooses to use an abbreviation instead of the words "Classification of Figurative Elements," is to be CFE.

(b)

If the numbers of several categories and divisions are necessary for the classification of one and the same registration, the classification for every category and division should be indicated separately, in numerical order; the various indications should be separated by a semicolon (e.g., CFE 1.1.2,10,25; 1.15.17; 2.9.1 or, if the section numbers are not included in the classification: CFE 1.1; 1.15; 2.9).

(c)

The edition of the Vienna Classification according to which figurative elements of marks are classified should be indicated by an Arabic numeral in round brackets, for example, CFE (7).