Classification and reclassification for designs

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Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand

Practice guidelines

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Classification and reclassification for designs

New Zealand Registered Designs and design applications are presently classified in accordance with the article or articles to which the design is applied using version 9 of the International Locarno Design Classification System, augmented by some subdivisions of some subclasses, designated alphabetically A, B etc.

We are updating and improving the design search and classification system and will now classify designs using the latest English language version of  Locarno, currently version 11, and all presently published designs including all registered designs will be reclassified according to this version of Locarno.

All pending and future applications are classified down to at least subclass level. Moreover, a numerical third code level, which is an indication of the article or product of the design, in accordance with the “INDICATION OF GOODS” in the Locarno classification, will generally be recorded as in the examples 1 and 2 below. The digits of this third level code correspond simply to the numerical position of the indication of goods in the English subclass list and are independent of the “Serial No.” as published in the Locarno Classification.

Previous alphabetical subdivisions of subclass indications (A, B, C etc) otherwise do not apply to the current classification.

Classification Examples:

  1. A design applied to a lollipop may be classified as Class 1 (Foodstuffs), subclass 01 (BAKERS' PRODUCTS, BISCUITS, PASTRY, MACARONI AND OTHER CEREAL PRODUCTS, CHOCOLATES, CONFECTIONERY, ICES), and include the indication of goods 015 for “Lollipops” because “Lollipops” is the 15th entry in the English subclass list. In short: “01.01.015”.

  2. A breadboard may be classified as Class 7 (HOUSEHOLD GOODS, NOT ELSEWHERE SPECIFIED), subclass 04 (APPLIANCES AND UTENSILS, HAND-MANIPULATED, FOR PREPARING FOOD OR DRINK), and include the indication of goods 004 for “Bread boards”. In short: “07.04.004”.

Class Criteria Searching:

  • Website users are able to search designs, to the selectable level of the classification.
  • If the class criteria field is entered at only the class.subclass level the search will return all designs that have that class.subclass classification, with any indication of goods in that subclass. (eg The breadboard used in Example 2 above will be returned by a search for class 07.04.004 or a search for class 07.04.).

Last updated 25 October 2017

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