As the various procedures and register maintenance work in the fields of trade marks, designs and patents have been harmonised, the IPI has drawn up new guidelines to reflect this harmonisation. These harmonised guidelines concern the sections ‘General section’, ‘Registration/grant procedure’ and ‘Register maintenance’. They were submitted to stakeholders for consultation.

The IPI has also partially revised its Trade Mark Guidelines (‘International trade mark registration’, ‘Substantive trade mark examination’, ‘Opposition proceedings’ and ‘Cancellation proceedings due to non-use’) as well as the guidelines for the substantive examination of national patent applications.

These guidelines will come into force on 1 July 2023 and will apply to all pending procedures from that date. They can be consulted on the IPI’s website (in German, French and Italian).

 

Trade Mark Guidelines (in German, French and Italian)

Patent Guidelines (in German, French and Italian)

Design Guidelines (in German, French and Italian)