Cabinet approves proposal for accession of India to the Nice, Vienna and Locarno agreement

• The Central Government on March 13, 2019 approved the proposal for accession of India to the three following agreements:
  1. The Nice Agreement: Concerning the International classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of registration of marks,
  2. The Vienna Agreement: Establishing an International Classification of the figurative elements of marks, and
  3. The Locarno Agreement: Establishing an International classification for industrial designs.

Importance for India

• Accession to the Nice, Vienna and Locarno Agreements will help the Intellectual Property Office in India to harmonise the classification systems for examinational of trademark and design applications, in line with the classification systems followed globally.
• It would give an opportunity to include Indian designs, figurative elements and goods in the international classification systems.
• The accession is expected to instill confidence in foreign investors in relation to protection of IPs in India.
• The accession would also facilitate in exercising rights in decision making processes regarding review and revision of the classifications under the agreement.