In June a Working Group agreed to propose changes to Rule 3 of the Treaty, which concerns trade mark filing procedures. The Treaty, which has 21 members, was signed in 2006.
The proposed rule changes concern three-dimensional, hologram, motion, colour, position, sound and other non-visible marks.
While the Treaty as signed contained references to non-traditional marks, it did not until now include much detail on how they should be represented by applicants, explained Marcus Hopperger of WIPO, who is secretary of the Working Group: “When it comes to modes of representing marks, there was no harmonisation, but simply a reference to national law.”
The recommended rules essentially codify existing practices...