"The origin of the current system used to classify goods and services goes back to the middle of the 19th century.  It was then that trademark authorities in various countries began to realise that the various types of trademark registers in use were insufficient in managing the amount of data. Furthermore, it was difficult to obtain an adequate overview of what was protected in various countries.  It therefore became necessary to classify goods when registering trademarks.  However, between countries, there was incongruence in both classification methods and the number of classes used.  This gave rise to serious problems, both for applicants who wanted to have protection in several countries and for the authorities, who were obliged to spend a lot of time reclassifying items.  Accordingly, a natural solution in the form of a common classification system gradually emerged and was founded at the beginning of the 20th century.

In the mid 1920s, a 5-member committee was established consisting of the following countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and Switzerland.  It was given the task of drawing up a classification system comprised of up to fifty classes.  The result was a list containing 34 classes and 20,000 goods. This list was adopted at the beginning of the 1930s.

In 1935, the first international list of goods was published.  The list was arranged alphabetically, and was available in three languages.  However, due to the political situation in Europe, another 22 years went by before this classification system became official.  It finally came into effect in 1961.  In the following year, eight new classes, along with an alphabetical listing containing approximately 1,000 services, were added to this classification system

In order for a classification system to continually meet user requirements, it is necessary to make changes and improvements.  Accordingly, there is an expert committee that meets every 5 years to discuss and implement any such changes.  To assist the committee in these efforts, there is a working group responsible for processing all suggestions and submitting recommendations to the expert committee.  As a rule, this group meets on an annual basis.

Changes to the classification system consist mainly of additions, in line with any new materials, goods and services being introduced to the market.  Obsolete goods and services are also removed."¹

"The countries party to the Nice Agreement constitute a Special Union within the framework of the Paris Union for the Protection of Industrial Property. They have adopted and apply the Nice Classification for the purposes of the registration of marks.

Each of the countries party to the Nice Agreement is obliged to apply the Nice Classification in connection with the registration of marks, either as the principal classification or as a subsidiary classification, and has to include in the official documents and publications relating to its registrations of marks the numbers of the classes of the Classification to which the goods or services for which the marks are registered belong.

Use of the Nice Classification is mandatory not only for the national registration of marks in countries party to the Nice Agreement, but also for the international registration of marks effected by the International Bureau of WIPO, under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and for the registration of marks by the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) and by the Benelux Trademark Office."²

¹ Text taken from Swedish Patent and Registration Office website.

² Text taken from WIPO website.