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...