Trademarks (Amendment) Regulations 2007 in force

The Trademarks (Amendment) Regulations 2007 are now in force.

The regulations amend the Third Schedule of the Classification of Goods and Services in the Trademarks Regulations 1997. They replace the existing classification of goods and services with the ninth edition of the Nice Classification, which entered into force on January 1 2007.

The regulations also adopt the International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks established by the Vienna Agreement to facilitate trademark anticipation searches. This is a step towards uniformity in trademark registrations in Malaysia. The regulations were published in the Official Gazette on July 12 2007 and applicants are required to adopt the fifth edition of the Vienna Classification.

Malaysia became a contracting party to the Nice Agreement and Vienna Agreement on June 28 2007. The agreements entered into force on September 28 2007. The requirements of the agreements are in line with the recent amendments to the Trademarks Regulations 1997.

Michael Soo, Shook Lin & Bok Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur