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Law No. 3 Of 8 January 1998 For Romania's Accession To The Arrangements Establishing International Classification In The Field Of Industrial Property

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 3 din 8 ianuarie 1998 pentru aderarea României la aranjamentele instituind o clasificare internaţionala în domeniul proprietăţii industriale

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LEGE no. 3 3 of 8 January 1998 for Romania's accession to the arrangements establishing an international classification in industrial property
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 10 10 of 14 January 1998



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Article 1 Romania adheres to the following arrangements establishing an international classification in the field of industrial property: -The Nice Agreement on the International Classification of Products and Services for the Registration of Marks of 15 June 1957, revised in Stockholm on 14 July 1967 and in Geneva on 13 May 1977, as amended on 2 October 1979; -The Locarno arrangement on the international classification of industrial drawings and models, signed on October 8, 1968 and revised on September 28, 1979; -The Strasbourg Agreement on the International Classification of Patents of Invention of 26 March 1971, as amended on 28 September 1979; -The Vienna Agreement establishing the international classification of the figurative elements of the trade marks, drawn up in Vienna on 12 June 1973 and amended on 1 October 1985. + Article 2 The State Office for Inventions and Trademarks will carry out in Romania the duties and procedures provided by the arrangements referred to in art. 1. This law was adopted by the Senate at the meeting of September 9, 1997, in compliance with the provisions of art 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. p. SENATE PRESIDENT MIRCEA IONESCU-QUINTUS This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies at the meeting of November 25, 1997, in compliance with the provisions of 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. p. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT ANDREI IOAN CHILIMAN + THE ARRANGEMENT IN NICE on the international classification of products and services for the registration of trade marks of 15 June 1957, revised in Stockholm on 14 July 1967 and in Geneva on 13 May 1977 and amended on 2 October 1979 *) Note * *) Translation. + Article 1 Establishment of a special union; adoption of an international classification; definition and international languages of classification ((. The countries to which this Agreement applies shall be constituted as a special union and shall adopt a common classification of products and services in order to register trade marks, hereinafter referred to as classification. (. Classification shall include: ((i) a list of classes, accompanied, where appropriate, by explanatory notes; (ii) an alphabetical list of products and services, hereinafter referred to as the alphabetical list, indicating the class in which each product or service is assigned. (. Classification shall consist of: (i) the classification which was published in 1971 by the International Office of Intellectual Property, hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau, as referred to in the Convention on the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization, establishing, however, that the explanatory notes in the list of houses appearing in this publication should be considered provisional, with the role of recommendations, until explanatory notes to the list of classes by the Committee of Experts are established mentioned in art. 3 3; (ii) the amendments and completions that have entered into force, according to art. 4 (1) of the Nice Agreement of 15 June 1957 and the Stockholm Act of 14 July 1967 of this Agreement, before the entry into force of this Agreement; (iii) the changes made, in the following, on the basis of art. 3 of this arrangement and which comes into force according to art. 4 4 (1) of the latter. ((4) The classification is drawn up in French and English, the two texts having the same authenticity. (5) a) The classification referred to in par. ((3) (i) and the additions referred to in par. (3) (ii) which entered into force before the date on which this arrangement is open to signature are included in an authentic, French-language copy lodged with the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, referred to in The following general manager and organisation. Amendments and additions referred to in par. ((3) (ii), which shall enter into force after the date on which the present arrangement is opened, shall also be deposited in an authentic copy, in French, to the Director-General. b) English version of the fees referred to in lett. a) shall be established by the Committee of Experts referred to in art. 3 3, shortly after the entry into force of this Agreement. Its authentic copy shall be submitted to the Director-General. c) Changes referred to in par. ((3) (iii) shall be deposited in an authentic copy, in French and English, to the Director-General. (6) The Director-General shall determine, after consulting the governments concerned, either on the basis of a translation proposed by these Governments or by any other way which would have no financial impact on the budget of the Special Union or for the Organization, official texts of the classification in German, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and in the other languages that the Assembly referred to in art. 5. (7) The alphabetical list shall mention, in respect of each product or service indication, a number of orders for the language in which it was drawn up, with: ((i) if it is the alphabetical list drawn up in English, the number of orders that the same indication has in the alphabetical list drawn up in French and vice versa; ((ii) if it is an alphabetical list drawn up according to par. ((6), the number of orders that the same indication has in the alphabetical list drawn up in French or in the alphabetical list drawn up in English. + Article 2 Legal sphere and application of classification (1) Subject to the obligations imposed by this arrangement, the scope of the classification is the one assigned by each country of the Special Union. In particular, the classification does not bind the countries of the Special Union either with regard to the assessment of the extent of the protection of the trade mark or the recognition of trade marks. ((. Each of the countries of the Special Union reserves the right to apply the classification as the main system or ancillary system. (. The competent administrations of the countries of the Special Union shall indicate, in the official titles and publications of the records of the trade marks, the numbers of classes of classifications to which the goods or services for which the trade mark (4) The fact that a name is included in the alphabetical list does not affect the rights that may exist regarding this name. + Article 3 Committee of experts (1) An expert committee has been established, in which each of the countries of the Special Union is represented. (2) a) The Director-General shall have the possibility and, at the request of the Committee of Experts, shall invite countries outside the Special Union, which are members of the Organization or Parties to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Intellectual Property, to shall be represented by observers at meetings of the Committee of Experts. b) The Director-General shall invite specialised trade mark intergovernmental organisations, of which at least one of the Member States is a country of the Special Union, to be represented by observers at the meetings of the Committee of Experts. c) The Director-General may and, at the request of the Committee of Experts, invite representatives of other intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations to participate in the discussions that interest them. ((. The Committee of Experts shall: ((i) decide on the changes to the classification; (ii) address recommendations to the countries of the Union in order to facilitate the use of classification and to promote uniform application; ((iii) take any other measures which, without having financial repercussions on the budget of the Special Union or for the Organization, are likely to facilitate the application of the classification by developing countries; ((iv) is empowered to establish sub-committees and working groups. (. The Committee of Experts shall adopt its internal rules. This Regulation gives the intergovernmental organisations referred to in paragraph 1 ((2) b), which may make a substantial contribution to the development of the classification, the possibility to take part in the meetings of the subcommittees and working groups of the Committee of Experts. (5) The proposals for changes to be classified may be made by the competent administration of any country of the Special Union, by the International Bureau, by the intergovernmental organizations represented at the Committee of Experts under par. ((2) b) and by any country or organisation specifically invited by the Expert Committee to formulate such proposals. The proposals shall be communicated to the International Bureau, which shall submit to the members of the Committee of Experts and to the observers no later than two months before the session of the Committee of Experts during which they (. Each country of the Special Union shall have one vote. ((7) a) Subject to the provisions of lit. b) the Committee of Experts shall take the decisions with the simple majority of the countries of the special Union represented b) Decisions relating to the adoption of amendments to the classification are taken by a majority of four fifths of the number of countries of the special Union represented which vote. By amending, any transfer of products or services from one class to another or the establishment of a new class must be understood. c) The interior regulation referred to in paragraph ((4) provides that, apart from special cases, the amendments to the classification shall be adopted at the close of specified periods; the Committee of Experts shall fix the duration of each period. ((8) Abholding shall not be considered a vote. + Article 4 Notification, entry into force and publication of changes ((. The changes decided by the Committee of Experts and the recommendations of the Committee of Experts shall be notified to the competent administrations of the countries of the Special Union by the International Bureau. The amendments shall enter into force 6 months after the date of dispatch of the notification. Any other change shall enter into force on the date on which the Committee of Experts determines when the change is adopted. (. The international bureau shall include in the classification the changes in force. These changes are subject to the opinions published in the periodicals established by the Assembly referred to in Article 5. + Article 5 Special Union Assembly (1) a) The special Union shall have an assembly composed of the countries which have ratified the present arrangement or which have acceded to it. b) The government of each country is represented by a delegate, who can be assisted by alternates, advisers and experts. c) The expenditure of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has designated it. ((2) a) Subject to the provisions of art. 3 3 and 4, Assembly: ((i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the application of this Agreement; (ii) instruct the International Bureau on the preparation of the review conferences, taking into account, in an appropriate manner, the observations of the countries of the Special Union which have not ratified this Agreement or have acceded to it; (iii) examine and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General of the Organization, hereinafter referred to as the Director-General, relating to the Special Union and giving him all useful indications of matters falling within the competence of the special; ((iv) decide the programme, adopt the special budget of the special Union and approve the winding-up accounts; ((v) adopt the Financial Regulation of the Special Union; ((vi) set up, outside the Committee of Experts referred to in art. 3, the other committees of experts and the working groups it considers useful for the achievement of the objectives of the Special Union; ((vii) decide which countries are not members of the Special Union and which are intergovernmental organisations which may be admitted to its meetings as observers; (viii) adopt the amendments art. 5-8 5-8; (ix) undertake any other appropriate action to achieve the objectives of the Special Union; ((x) shall be paid by any other tasks involved in this arrangement. b) The Assembly shall decide on issues of interest and other unions administered by the Organization, consulting the Coordination Committee of the Organization. (3) A) Each Member State of the Assembly shall have one vote. b) Most of the members of the Assembly constitute a quorum. c) Notwithstanding the provisions of b), if, during a session, the number of countries represented is inferior to the majority but equal or superior to the third countries of the Assembly, it may take decisions; however, the decisions of the Assembly, except those concerning its procedure, shall not become enforceable unless the conditions set out below are met. The International Office shall communicate those decisions to the Member States of the Assembly which were not represented, inviting them to express in writing within a period of 3 months from the date of such communication the vote or abstention. If at the end of that period, the number of countries which have expressed their vote or abstention is the least equal to the number of countries whose absence prevented the quorum from being set up during the session, those decisions shall become enforceable, with the condition that, at the same time, the majority needed to remain met. d) Subject to art. 8 (2), the Assembly's decisions shall be taken by a majority of two thirds in the number of votes cast e) Abholding does not consider voting. f) A delegate may represent only one country and shall only vote on its behalf. g) The countries of the Special Union which are not members of the Assembly shall be admitted to its meetings as observers. 4) a) The Assembly shall meet once every 2 years in ordinary session at the convocation of the Director-General and, apart from exceptional cases, during the same period and in the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization. b) The Assembly meets in the extraordinary session at the convocation addressed by the Director General, at the request of a fourth of the members of the Assembly. c) The agenda of each session shall be drawn up by the Director-General. (. The Assembly shall adopt its internal rules. + Article 6 International Bureau (1) (a) The administrative tasks assigned to the Special Union shall be provided by the International Bureau. b) In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare the meetings and provide the Secretariat of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts, all other committees of experts and all working groups which the Assembly or the Committee of Experts may Institute. c) The Director-General has the highest office in the Special Union and represents it. (. The Director-General and any staff member designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, at all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and any other committee of experts or working group that the Assembly or the Committee of experts can institute them. The Director-General or a staff member appointed by him shall be, ex officio, secretary of those bodies. (3) a) The International Bureau, according to the directives of the Assembly, shall prepare the revision conferences of the provisions of the arrangement, other than those of art. 5-8. b) The international office may consult intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations on the preparation of review conferences. c) The Director-General and the persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, in deliberations at these conferences. (. The International Office shall execute any other tasks assigned to it. + Article 7 Finance (. a) The special Union shall have a budget. b) The budget of the Special Union shall include its own receipts and expenses, its contribution to the budget of the expenditure common to the unions and, where appropriate, the amount made available to the budget of the Conference c) expenditure which is not allocated exclusively to the special Union, but also to one or more other unions administered by the Organization, shall be considered as common expenditure to unions. The part of the Special Union within these common expenses is proportionate to the interest that these expenses represent to it. (. The budget of the Special Union shall be determined taking into account the coordination requirements with the budgets of other unions administered by the Organization. (. The special Union budget shall be financed from the following sources: (i) contributions from the countries of the (ii) the fees and amounts due for the services offered by the International Office on behalf of the Special Union; (iii) the product of the sale of publications of the International Office on the Special Union and the rights (iv) donations, testamentary provisions and subsidies; ((v) rents, interest and other miscellaneous income. (4) a) In order to establish its contribution part within the meaning of the provisions of par. ((3) (i), each country of the special Union belongs to the class in which it was assigned to the Paris Union on the protection of industrial property and pays its annual contributions on the basis of the number of units determined for that class in that union. b) The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union shall consist of an amount whose ratio to the total amount of annual contributions to the budget of the Special Union of all countries is the same as the ratio between the number of to which the total number of units in all countries is also classified. c) Contributions shall be paid on 1 January of each year. d) A country that has been late to pay its contributions cannot exercise its right to vote in any of the special Union bodies, if the amount of its outstanding is equal to or greater than that of the contributions it owes for the two years ended. However, such a country may be authorised to retain the exercise of its right to vote within that body as long as the latter considers that the delay is caused by special and unavoidable circumstances. e) If the budget is not adopted before the start of a new financial year, the budget of the previous year shall be renewed in accordance with the modalities laid down by the (. The amount of the fees and amounts due for services offered by the International Office on behalf of the Special Union shall be determined by the Director-General, who shall report (6) a) The special Union shall have a bearing fund consisting of a single payment made by each country of the Special Union. If the Fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly shall decide its increase. b) The amount of the initial varmatory of each country to the said fund or the amount of its participation in its increase shall be proportionate to the contribution of that country for the year in which its fund is constituted. c) The proportion and modalities of payment shall be decided by the Assembly, at the proposal of the Director-General and after the opinion of the Coordination Committee (7) a) The headquarters agreement concluded with the country on whose territory the Organization is based provides that, if the bearing fund is not sufficient, that country shall grant amounts in advance. The amount of these amounts in advance and the conditions under which separate agreements between the country concerned and the Organization are granted shall be subject to separate agreements. b) Country referred to in lett. a) and the Organization have, each, the right to denounce the commitment to grant amounts in advance, by written notice. The denunciation shall take effect 3 years after the end of the year in which it was notified. ((8) The clearance of accounts shall be ensured, in accordance with the arrangements laid down by the Financial Regulation, by one or more countries of the Special Union or by which external controllers, who are, with their consent, appointed by the Assembly. + Article 8 Amending art. 5-8 (1) Proposals for amending art. 5 5-7 and this Article may be submitted by any Member State of the Assembly or by the Director-General. These proposals shall be communicated by the Director-General to the Member States of the Assembly at least 6 months before the Assembly is examined. (2) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. (1) shall be adopted by the Assembly. Three-fourths of the number of votes cast are required for adoption; however, for any amendment of art. 5 5 and of this paragraph, four fifths of the votes cast shall be required. (3) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. (1) shall enter into force one month after the receipt by the Director-General of written acceptance notices, carried out in accordance with their respective constitutional rules, from three quarters of the number of countries that were members of the The Assembly at the time the amendment was adopted. Any modification of those articles, thus accepted, binds all countries that are members of the Assembly when the amendment takes effect or that become members of the Assembly at a later date; however, any change which increases the financial obligations of the countries of the Special Union only binds those of them which have notified their acceptance of that amendment. + Article 9 Ratification and accession; entry into force ((. Each of the countries of the Special Union which has signed this undertaking may ratify it and, if it has not signed it, may accede to it. ((2) Any country outside the Special Union, party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, may accede to this Agreement and may become, as a result of this, the country of the Special Union. ((. The instruments of ratification and accession shall be deposited with the Director-General. ((4) a) This Agreement shall enter into force 3 months after the following two conditions have been met: ((i) six or more countries have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession; ((ii) at least three of these countries are countries which, on the date on which this Agreement is open to signature, are countries of the Special Union. b) Entry into force referred to in lett. a) is effective in respect of countries which, at least 3 months before that entry into force, have deposited instruments of ratification or accession. c) In respect of any country not included in lett. b), this Agreement shall enter into force 3 months after the date on which its ratification or accession has been notified by the Director-General, provided that a later date has not been mentioned in the instrument of ratification or accession. In the latter case, this Agreement shall enter into force, as regards that country, on the date so indicated. (5) Ratification or accession shall, legally, attract adherence to all clauses and access to all the advantages stipulated by this Agreement. (6) After the entry into force of this Agreement, no country may ratify an act prior to this Agreement or accede to it. + Article 10 Duration This arrangement has the same duration as the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property. + Article 11 Review ((. This arrangement may be periodically reviewed by conferences of the countries of the Special Union. (2) The convocation of the revision conferences shall be decided by the Assembly. (3) Art. 5-8 may be amended either by a review conference or according to the provisions of art. 8. + Article 12 Denunciation (. Any country may denounce this arrangement by a notification addressed to the Director-General. This denunciation also draws the denunciation of this arrangement or previous acts which the country which denounces this arrangement has ratified or acceded to and does not produce effect except in respect of the country which requested it, the arrangement remaining enforceable and in force against the other countries of the Special Union. ((. Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which the Director-General received the notification. ((. The possibility of denunciation provided for in this Article may not be exercised by a country before the end of a period of 5 years from the date on which it became the country of the Special Union. + Article 13 Reference to art. 24 24 of the Paris Convention Art. 24 of the 1967 Stockholm Act of the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property applies to this Agreement; however, if those provisions change, the last valid amendment applies to the present arrangement with regard to the countries of the Special Union which are linked by that amendment. + Article 14 Signing; official languages; depositary functions; notifications ((1) a) This arrangement shall be signed in a single authentic copy in French and English, the two texts having the same authenticity, and shall be submitted to the Director-General. b) The Director-General shall establish official texts of this Agreement after consulting the Governments concerned and within the two months after its signature, in the other two languages, Spanish and Russian, in which, in addition to the languages referred to in point. a), the texts of the Convention on the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization were signed. c) The Director-General shall establish official texts of this Agreement after consulting the interested governments, in the German, Arabic, Italian and Portuguese languages and in the other languages which the Assembly may indicate. ((. This arrangement shall remain open until 31 December 1977. (3) a) The Director-General shall attest and transmit two copies of the signed text of this Agreement to the Governments of all countries of the Special Union and, upon request, to the Government b) The Director-General shall attest and transmit two copies of any amendments to this Agreement to the Governments of all countries of the Special Union and, upon request, to the Government (4) The Director-General shall arrange for the registration of this Agreement with the Secretariat of (. The Director-General shall notify the Governments of all countries which are party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property (i) signatures submitted according to the provisions of par. ((1); (ii) the deposit of instruments of ratification or accession according to the provisions of art. 9 9 (3); (iii) the date of entry into force of this Agreement according to art. 9 9 (4) a); (iv) the acceptance of the amendments to this Agreement in accordance with 8 8 (3); ((v) the dates on which those amendments enter into force; (vi) denunciations received according to art. 12. + THE ARRANGEMENT OF LOCARNO on the international classification of industrial designs, signed on 8 October 1968 and revised on 28 September 1979 *) Note * *) Translation. + Article 1 Establishment of a special union. Adoption of an international classification ((. The countries to which this Agreement applies shall form a special union. (. These countries shall adopt a single classification for industrial designs, hereinafter referred to as international classification. (3) The international classification includes: ((i) a list of classes and subclasses; (ii) an alphabetical list of products in which drawings and industrial models are incorporated, indicating the classes and subclasses in which they are assigned; ((iii) explanatory notes. (4) The list of classes and subclasses shall be the list annexed to this Agreement, subject to the amendments and additions which the Committee of Experts established in accordance with art. 3 3, hereinafter referred to as the Committee of Experts. (5) The alphabetical list of products and the explanatory notes will be adopted by the Committee of Experts in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 3. (6) The international classification may be amended or supplemented by the Committee of Experts, in accordance with the procedure laid down in art. 3. (7) a) International classification is written in English and French. b) Official texts of the international classification are, after consulting the interested governments, established in the other languages that the Assembly referred to in art. 5, by the International Bureau of Intellectual Property, hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau, referred to in the Convention on the Establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization, hereinafter referred to as the Organization. + Article 2 Use and legal sphere of international classification (1) In accordance with the conditions laid down in this Agreement, the international classification will exclusively have an administrative character. However, each country may assign it to the legal sphere which it considers appropriate. In particular, the international classification does not bind the countries of the Special Union with regard to the nature and scope of protection attributed to the industrial design in those countries. ((. Any country of the Special Union reserves the right to use international classification as a principal or ancillary system. ((3) The officials of the countries of the Special Union shall include in the official documents on the submission or registration of industrial drawings and models and, if they are officially published, in those publications the numbers of classes and subclasses of the international classification to which the products in which the industrial drawings and models are incorporated. ((4) In choosing the names to be entered in the alphabetical list of products, the Committee of Experts shall, as far as possible, avoid making use of names on which there could be executive rights. However, the inclusion of a certain term in the alphabetical list will not be construed as expressing the opinion of the Committee of Experts, in the sense of knowing whether or not that term is covered by exclusive rights. + Article 3 Committee of experts (1) Solving the tasks provided in art. 1 1 (4), 1 (5) and 1 (6) will be entrusted to an expert committee. Each country of the Special Union shall be represented in the Committee of Experts, which shall be organised in accordance with the rules of procedure adopted by a simple majority by the countries represented. (. The Committee of Experts shall adopt the alphabetical list and the explanatory notes with the simple majority of the votes of the countries ((3) The proposals for amending or supplementing the international classification may be made by the office of any country of the Special Union or by the International Bureau. Any proposal made by an Office shall be communicated by that Office to the International Bureau. The proposals from the offices and the International Bureau shall be submitted by the International Bureau to the members of the Committee of Experts, not more than two months before the session of the Committee of Experts in which those proposals are to be discussed. (4) The decisions of the Committee of Experts on the adoption of amendments and additions to be made to the international classification shall be taken by a simple majority of the votes of the countries of the However, if the decisions result in the establishment of a new class or the transfer of products from one class to another class, unanimity is required. (5) Each expert shall have the right to vote by correspondence. ((6) Where a Member State has not appointed a representative to a given session of the Expert Committee, or if the appointed expert has not cast his vote during the session, or during a period prescribed by the rules of procedure of the The Committee of Experts shall be deemed to have accepted the decision taken by the Committee of Experts. + Article 4 Notification and publication of international classification, amendments and additions thereto (1) The alphabetical list of products and explanatory notes adopted by the Committee of Experts, as well as any modification or addition to the international classification as a result of its decision shall be communicated by the International Office to the Offices Special Union countries The decisions of the Committee of Experts shall enter into force once the communication has been received However, if these judgments involve the establishment of a new class or the transfer of products from one class to another class, they shall enter into force within 6 months from the date of that communication. (2) The international bureau, as depositary of the international classification, introduces in this classification the amendments and additions that entered into force. Notices of amendments and additions shall be published in the periodicals established by the Assembly. + Article 5 Special Union Assembly (. a) The special Union shall have an assembly of the countries of the Special Union. b) The Government of each country of the Special Union shall be represented by a delegate who may be assisted by alternates, advisers and experts. c) The expenses for each delegation are borne by the government that designated it. (2) a) In accordance with the provisions of art. 3, Assembly: ((i) resolve all matters relating to the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the application of this Agreement; (ii) give directives to the International Bureau in connection with the preparation of the review conferences; ((iii) review and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General of the Organization, hereinafter referred to as the Director-General, on the Special Union and give it all instructions on matters falling within the competence of the Special Union; ((iv) establish the programme and adopt the special Union budget and approve the balance sheet; ((v) adopt the Financial Regulation of the Special Union; ((vi) decide on the drafting of the official texts of the international classification in languages other than English and French; ((vii) shall establish, in addition to the Committee of Experts formed in accordance with the provisions of 3 3, other committees of experts and working groups which it considers necessary for the achievement of the objectives of the Special Union; (viii) decides which countries are not members of the Special Union and which intergovernmental organisations and international non-governmental organisations are admitted as observers to its meetings; (ix) adopt amendments to art. 5-8 5-8; (x) undertake any appropriate actions to contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Special Union; (xi) performs any other similar tasks that this arrangement entails. b) In connection with matters of interest and other administrative unions by the Organization, the Assembly shall take its decisions after consulting the Coordination Committee of the Organization. (3) A) Each Member State of the Assembly shall have one vote. b) Half of the number of the members of the Assembly is the quorum c) Disregarding the provisions laid down in lett. b) and, if at one of the sessions, the number of countries represented is the lowest of half, but equal to or greater than one third of the number of the members of the Assembly, the Assembly may take decisions, but, except for decisions on its own the procedure, all decisions shall become enforceable only if the conditions set out in the following are fulfilled. The International Office shall communicate these judgments to the Member States of the Assembly which were not represented and shall invite them to express their vote or abstention in writing within 3 months of the date of the communication. If, at the expiry of the period, the number of countries which have so expressed their vote or abstention is at least equal to the number of countries whose absence prevented the quorum from being set up during the session, these decisions shall become enforceable, provided that At the same time, the majority needed to be met. d) According to the provisions of art. 8 (2), the decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a majority of two thirds of the votes cast. e) Abtinations are not considered votes. f) A delegate may represent and vote only for one country. (4) a) The Assembly shall meet once every 2 years, in ordinary session, at the convocation of the Director-General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and in the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization. b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session at the convocation of the Director-General at the request of a fourth of the members of the Assembly. c) The agenda of each session shall be prepared by the Director-General. (. The Assembly shall adopt its internal rules. + Article 6 International Bureau (1) (a) Administrative tasks concerning the Special Union shall be carried out by the International Bureau b) In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare the meetings and provide the Secretariat of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and other committees of similar experts and working groups, in accordance with those laid down by the Assembly or the Committee of Experts. c) The Director-General is the highest official of the Special Union and represents it. (. The Director-General and any other staff member designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, at all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and other committees of experts or similar working groups, in accordance with those established by the Assembly or by the Committee of Experts. The Director-General or another staff member designated by him shall, ex officio, be the secretary of those bodies. (3) a) In accordance with the directives of the Assembly, the International Bureau shall make preparations for the conferences to revise the provisions of this Agreement, other than those of art. 5-8. b) The international office may consult with intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations in connection with the preparations for the review conferences. c) The Director-General and the persons designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, at the discussions taking place during those conferences. (. The International Bureau shall carry out any tasks assigned to it. + Article 7 Finance (. a) The special Union shall have a budget. b) The budget of the Special Union shall include its own revenue and expenditure, its contribution to the budget of the expenditure common to the unions and, where appropriate, the amount made available to the c) Expenses not exclusively attributed to the Special Union, but also to one or more unions administered by the Organization, are considered common expenses to unions. The share of the common expenditure of the Special Union shall be proportionate to the interest that the Special Union has towards them. (. The budget of the Special Union shall be determined taking into account the coordination requirements with the budgets of the other unions administered by the Organization. (. The special Union budget shall be from the following sources: (i) contributions from the countries of the (ii) the fees and amounts due for services provided by the International Office in connection with the Special Union; (iii) the product of the sale of publications of the International Office on the Special Union and the rights (iv) gifts, donations and grants; ((v) rents, interest and other income. (4) a) For the purpose of determining its contribution, referred to in paragraph 1. ((3) (i), each country of the special Union belongs to the class in which it is assigned to the Paris Union on the protection of industrial property and pays its annual contributions on the basis of the same number of units which has been fixed for the class that is in that unit. b) The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union shall consist of an amount whose ratio to the total amount of the annual contributions to the budget of the Special Union of all countries is the same as the ratio between the number of framed and the total number of units of all countries. c) Contributions are due on January 1 of each year. d) The country which has delays in the payment of its contributions cannot exercise its right to vote in any special Union body, if the amount of arrears is equal to or greater than that of the contributions due on the previous 2 years. However, any of the special Union bodies may allow such a country to continue to exercise its right to vote within that organ, if and as long as it is shown that the delay in payment is due to some exceptional and unavoidable circumstances. e) If the budget is not adopted before the beginning of a new financial period, it will have the same level as the budget for the previous year, according to the financial regulation. (5) The amount of fees and amounts due for services by the International Office in connection with the Special Union shall be determined and reported to the Assembly by the Director-General. (6) a) The special Union shall have a bearing fund consisting of a single payment made by each Member State of the Special Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly decides to increase it. b) The amount of the initial varmatory of each country to the said fund or the amount of its participation in its increase shall be proportionate to that country's contribution for the year during which the fund is established or in which the decision increase it. c) The proportion and modalities of the payment shall be fixed by the Assembly, at the proposal of the Director-General and after consulting the Coordination Committee of the Organization (7) A) In the headquarters agreement, concluded with the country on whose territory the Organization is based, it is stipulated that, if the bearing fund is insufficient, that country grants advances. The amount of these advances and the conditions under which they are granted shall be subject, for each individual case, to separate agreements concluded between that country and the Organization. b) The country referred to in lett. a) and the Organization have every right to denounce the obligation to grant advances by means of a written notification. The denunciation shall take effect 3 years after the end of the year in which it was notified. ((8) The clearance of accounts shall be made by one or more countries of the Special Union or by external experts, as provided for by the Financial Regulation. They are appointed, with their consent, by the Assembly. + Article 8 Amending art. 5-8 (1) Proposals for amending art. 5 5-7 and this Article may be initiated by any country of the Special Union or by the Director-General. These proposals shall be communicated by the Director-General to the countries of the Special Union, at least 6 months before their discussion by the Assembly. ((2) Amendments to the articles referred to in paragraph (1) shall be adopted by the Assembly. For adoption, three-fourths of the number of votes cast are required; however, for any amendment made to art. 5 5 and this paragraph shall be required four fifths of the votes cast. (3) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. (1) shall enter into force one month after the receipt by the Director General of written acceptance notices, carried out in accordance with their respective constitutional rules, from three quarters of the number of countries that were members of the The special union at the time of adoption Any amendment to the said articles, accepted in this way, binds all the Member States of the Special Union on the date on which the amendment takes effect or which become members at a later date, provided that any change by which it is increase the financial obligations of the countries of the Special Union to bind only those countries which have notified the acceptance of that amendment. + Article 9 Ratification and accession; entry into force (1) Any country which is party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, which has signed this Agreement, may ratify it, and, if it has not signed it, may accede to it. ((. The instruments of ratification and accession shall be deposited with the Director-General. ((.) As regards the first five countries which have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession, this Agreement shall enter into force within 3 months of the deposit of the fifth instrument. b) In respect of any other country, this Agreement shall enter into force within 3 months of the date on which ratification or accession has been notified by the Director-General, except where in the instrument of ratification or of accession was indicated a later date. In the latter case, this Agreement shall enter into force, as regards that country, on the date so indicated. (4) Ratification or accession automatically entails acceptance of all clauses and access to all the advantages of this arrangement. + Article 10 Strength and duration of arrangement This arrangement has the same strength and duration as the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property. + Article 11 Review art. 1 1-4 and 9-15 (1) Articles 1 to 4 and 9 to 15 of this Agreement may be subject to review, with a view to introducing the desired improvements. (. Each revision shall be examined at a conference to be held with the participation of delegations of the countries of the Special Union. + Article 12 Denunciation (. Any country may denounce this arrangement by a notification addressed to the Director-General. Such denunciation affects only the country that does it, with the arrangement remaining in place and having full effect on the other countries of the Special Union. ((. Denunciation shall take effect one year from the date on which the General Director-General received the notification. ((. The right to denunciation, as provided for in this Article, shall not be exercised by any country before the expiry of 5 years from the date on which it became a member of the Special Union. + Article 13 Territories Art. 24 24 of the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property to Apply to this Arrangement. + Article 14 Signing, official languages, notifications ((1) a) This arrangement is signed in a single copy, in English and French, both texts having the same authenticity, and is deposited with the Government of Switzerland. b) This arrangement shall remain open to the signing in Bern until 30 June 1969. (2) Official texts shall be determined by the Director-General, after consulting the Governments concerned, and in the other languages which the Assembly may designate. (3) Two copies of the signed text of this Agreement, certified by the Government of Switzerland, shall be transmitted by the Director General to the Governments of the countries which signed it and, upon request, to the Government of any other country. (. The Director-General shall record this Agreement with the United Nations Secretariat. (5) The Director-General shall notify the governments of all countries of the Special Union of the date of entry into force of this Agreement, signatures, deposits of instruments of ratification or accession, acceptance of changes in the arrangement, dates on which these amendments shall enter into force and the notifications of denunciation. + Article 15 Transitional provisions Until the first Director-General takes up his duties, the particulars of this Agreement, made to the International Office of the Organization or the Director-General, shall be considered as references to the Offices International for the Protection of Intellectual Property (B.I.R.P.I.) and their director. + THE STRASBOURG ARRANGEMENT on the international patent classification of inventions of 26 March 1971, as amended on 28 September 1979 *) Note * *) Translation. Contracting Parties, considering that the adoption, worldwide, of a uniform system for the classification of patents, authorship certificates of invention, utility models and utility certificates responds to the general interest and is likely to establish closer international cooperation and foster the harmonisation of legal systems in the field of industrial property, recognising the importance of the European Convention on the International Classification of Invention Patents of 19 December 1954, whereby the Council of Europe established the international classification of patents, taking into account the universal value of this classification and the importance it represents for all countries that are a party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, aware of the importance this classification represents for developing countries, facilitating their access to the ever-increasing volume of modern technology, Considering the provisions of art. 19 of the Paris Convention of 20 March 1883 on the protection of industrial property, as revised on 14 December 1900 in Brussels, on 2 June 1911 in Washington, on 6 November 1925 in The Hague, on 2 June 1934 in London, on 31 October 1958 in Lisbon and on 14 July 1967 in Stockholm, have agreed the following: + Article 1 Establishment of a special union; adoption of an international classification The countries to which this arrangement applies are set up in a special union and adopt a common classification, called the "International Classification of Patents", hereinafter referred to as classification, for patents, certificates by invention author, utility models and utility certificates. + Article 2 Definition of classification (1) a) Classification shall consist of: (i) the text which was established in accordance with the provisions of the European Convention on the International Classification of Invention Patents of 19 December 1954, hereinafter referred to as the European Convention, which entered into force and was published by to the Secretary General of the Council of Europe on 1 September 1968 (ii) the amendments that entered into force under the provisions of art. 2 (2) of the European Convention before the entry into force of this Agreement; (iii) the amendments subsequently made under the provisions of art. 5 and which comes into force according to art. 6. b) The user guide and the notes that are contained in the text of the classification are an integral part of it. (2) a) The text referred to in par. ((a) (ii) is contained in two authentic copies, in English and French, submitted, when this Agreement is open to signature, one to the General Secretariat of the Council of Europe and the other to the Director-General of The World Intellectual Property Organization established by the Convention of 14 July 1967, hereinafter referred to as the Director-General and the Organization, respectively. b) The amendments referred to in paragraph ((a) (ii) shall be deposited in two authentic copies, in English and French, one to the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe and the other to the Director-General. c) The amendments referred to in paragraph ((1) a (iii) shall be submitted in a single authentic copy, in English and French, to the Director-General. + Article 3 Official languages of classification ((1) The classification is established in English and French, the two texts having the same authenticity. (2) The International Office of the Organization, hereinafter referred to as the International Office, shall determine, in consultation with the governments concerned, either on the basis of a translation proposed by these governments or by any other means which would not have no financial repercussions on the budget of the special Union or for the Organization, official texts of the classification in German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and in the other languages that the Assembly referred to in art. 7. + Article 4 Application of classification ((1) Classification has only an administrative character. ((. Each of the countries of the Special Union shall have the possibility to apply the classification as a main system or as an auxiliary (. The competent administrations of the countries of the Special Union shall indicate: ((i) in patents, authorship certificates of invention, utility models and utility certificates they issue, and in applications for such protection titles, which they publish or which they make only available to the public. for consultation; ((ii) in the communications by which the official periodicals make known the publication or making available to the public of the documents referred to in subpar. ((i) the full symbols of the classification given to the invention covered by the document referred to in subpar. ((i). ((. At the time of signature of this Agreement or the deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession: ((i) any country may declare that it reserves the right not to indicate the symbols relating to the groups or subgroups of the classification in the applications referred to in paragraph 1. (3), which are made available only to the public for consultation, and in their communications; (ii) any country which does not submit to the examination the novelty of the inventions, whether immediate or deferred, and whose procedure for issuing patents or other protective securities does not provide for a research on the stage of the technique may declare that it reserves the right not to indicate the symbols relating to the groups and subgroups of the classification in the documents and communications referred to in par. ((3). If these conditions exist only for certain categories of protection titles or for certain areas of the technique, that country may only use the reserve to that extent. (5) The symbols of the classification, preceded by the words "international patent classification" or by an abbreviation determined by the Committee of Experts referred to in art. 5, will be printed in thick characters or in another visible way, at the beginning of each document mentioned in par. ((3) (i) in which they must appear. (6) If a country of the Special Union entrusts the issuance of patents to an intergovernmental administration, it shall take all measures in its power to ensure that such administration applies the classification in accordance with this Article. + Article 5 Committee of experts (1) An expert committee has been established in which each of the countries of the Special Union is represented. (2) a) The Director-General shall invite specialised intergovernmental organisations in the field of patents and from which at least one of the Member States is a party to this Agreement to be represented by observers at the meetings of the Committee of experts. b) The Director-General shall have the possibility and, at the request of the Committee of Experts, shall invite representatives of other intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations to take part in the discussions of interest ((. The Committee of Experts shall: ((i) modify the classification; (ii) address recommendations to the countries of the Union in order to facilitate the use of classification and to promote its uniform application; (iii) give its competition in order to promote international cooperation to reclassify the documentation necessary for the examination of inventions, taking into account, in particular, the needs of developing countries; ((iv) take any other measure which, without having financial repercussions on the budget of the Special Union or the Organization, is likely to facilitate the application of the classification by developing countries; ((v) is empowered to establish sub-committees and working groups. (. The Committee of Experts shall adopt its internal rules. This Regulation gives the intergovernmental organisations referred to in paragraph 1 ((2) a), which may make a substantial contribution to the development of the classification, the possibility of participating in meetings under the committees and working groups of the Committee of Experts. ((5) The proposals for amendments to the classification of the bed shall be made by the competent administration of any country of the Special Union, by the International Office, by the intergovernmental organisations represented in the Committee of Experts in the Base para. ((2) a) and by any other organisations specifically invited by the Expert Committee to make such proposals. The proposals shall be communicated to the International Bureau, which shall submit them to the members of the Committee of Experts and to the Observers no later than two months before the session of the Committee of Experts during which ((a) Each Member State of the Committee of Experts shall have one vote. b) The Committee of Experts shall take the decisions with the simple majority of the countries represented which vote c) Any decision that a fifth of the number of represented countries that vote considers it to bring a transformation of the basic structure of the classification or that implying an important reclassification work must be taken by the majority of three fourths of the number of represented countries voting. d) Abholding does not consider voting. + Article 6 Notification, entry into force and publication of amendments and other decisions ((. All decisions of the Committee of Experts on amendments to the classification and recommendations of the Committee of Experts shall be notified by the International Office to the competent administrations of the countries of the Special Union. The amendments shall enter into force 6 months after the date of sending the notifications. (. The international bureau shall include in the classification the changes in force. The amendments are subject to opinions published in the periodicals established by the Assembly referred to in art. 7. + Article 7 Special Union Assembly (. a) The special Union shall have a meeting composed of the countries of the Special Union b) The Government of each country of the Special Union shall be represented by a delegate, who may be assisted by alternates, advisers and experts. c) Any intergovernmental organization referred to in art. 5 5 (2) a) may be represented by an observer at the meetings of the Assembly and, if the Assembly decides, at the meetings of the committees and working groups established by the Assembly. d) The expenditure of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has designated it ((2) a) Subject to the provisions of art. 5, Assembly: ((i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the application of this Agreement; (ii) give guidance to the International Bureau on the preparation of review conferences; ((iii) examine and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General relating to the Special Union and give him all the necessary indications concerning matters falling within the competence of the Special ((iv) decide the programme, adopt the special budget of the special Union and approve its winding-up accounts; ((v) adopt the Financial Regulation of the Special Union; ((vi) decide to establish the official texts of the classification in languages other than the English, French and those listed in art. 3 3 (2); ((vii) set up the committees and working groups it considers useful for the achievement of the objectives of the Special Union; (viii) decides, subject to the provisions of par. ((1) a), which are the countries not members of the Special Union and which are intergovernmental and international non-governmental organisations which may be admitted as observers to its meetings and those of the committees and groups of work set up by it; (ix) undertake any other appropriate action in order to achieve the objectives of the Special Union; ((x) shall be paid by any other tasks involved in this arrangement. b) The Assembly shall decide on issues of interest and other unions administered by the Organization, consulting the Coordination Committee of the Organization. (3) A) Each Member State of the Assembly shall have one vote. b) Half of the number of the members of the Assembly is the quorum c) If this quorum is not attained, the Assembly may take decisions; however, the decisions of the Assembly, with the exception of those concerning its procedure, shall become enforceable only when the conditions set out below are met. The International Office shall communicate those decisions to the Member States of the Assembly which were not represented, inviting them to express in writing within a period of 3 months from the date of that communication, the vote or the abstention. If, at the end of that period, the number of countries which have expressed their vote or abstention is at least equal to the number of countries whose absence prevented the quorum from being set up during the session, those decisions shall become enforceable, with the condition that, at the same time, the majority needed to remain met. d) Subject to art. 11 (2), the decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a majority of two thirds of the votes cast. e) Abholding does not consider voting. f) A delegate may represent only one country and shall only vote on its behalf. (4) a) The Assembly shall meet once every 2 years in ordinary session, at the convocation of the Director-General and, apart from the exceptional cases, during the same period and in the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization. b) The Assembly meets in extraordinary session, at the convocation addressed by the Director General, at the request of a fourth of the members of the Assembly. c) The daily order of each session shall be drawn up by the Director-General. (. The Assembly shall adopt its internal rules. + Article 8 International Bureau (1) (a) The administrative tasks assigned to the Special Union shall be provided by the International Bureau. b) In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare the meetings and ensure the secretariat of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and any other committee or working group that the Assembly or the Committee of Experts may establish. c) The Director-General has the highest office in the Special Union and represents it. (. The Director-General and any staff member designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, at all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and any other committee or working group that the Assembly or the Committee of Experts may institute. The Director-General or a staff member appointed by him shall be, ex officio, secretary of those bodies. (3) a) The International Bureau shall prepare the revision conferences in accordance with the Assembly directives. b) The international office may consult intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations on the preparation of review conferences. c) The Director-General and the persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, at the debates of the review conferences (. The International Bureau shall carry out any tasks assigned to it. + Article 9 Finance (. a) The special Union shall have a budget. b) The budget of the Special Union shall include its own receipts and expenses, its contribution to the budget of expenditure common to the unions, and, where appropriate, the amount made available to the budget of the Conference c) The expenses which are not attributed exclusively to the special Union, but also to one or more other unions administered by the Organization, shall be considered as common expenditure to unions. The part of the Special Union within these common expenses is proportionate to the interest that these expenses represent to it. (. The budget of the Special Union shall be decided taking into account the coordination requirements with the budgets of other unions administered by the Organization. (. The special Union budget shall be financed from the following resources: (i) contributions from the countries of the (ii) the fees and amounts due for services offered by the International Office on behalf of the Special Union (iii) the product of the sale of publications of the International Office on the Special Union and the rights (iv) donations, testamentary provisions and subsidies; ((v) rents, interest and other income. (4) a) In order to establish its contribution part within the meaning of the provisions of par. ((3) (i), each country of the special Union belongs to the class in which it is assigned to the Paris Union on the protection of industrial property and pays its annual contribution on the basis of the number of units determined for that class in that union. b) The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union finds in an amount whose ratio to the total amount of the annual contributions to the budget of the Special Union of all countries is the same as the ratio between the number of the class units framed and the total number of units of all countries. c) Contributions shall be paid on 1 January of each year. d) A country that has been late to pay its contributions cannot exercise its right to vote in any of the special Union bodies, if the amount of its outstanding is equal to or greater than that of the contributions it owes for the two years ended. However, such a country may be authorised to retain the exercise of its right to vote within that body as long as it considers that the delay in payment is due to exceptional and unavoidable circumstances. e) If the budget is not adopted before the start of a new financial year, the budget of the previous year shall be renewed in accordance with the modalities laid down by the (. The amount of the fees and amounts due for the services offered by the International Office on behalf of the Special Union shall be determined by the Director General, who shall report to the (6) a) The special Union shall have a bearing fund consisting of a single payment made by each country of the special Union. If the Fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly shall decide its increase. b) The amount of the initial varmatory of each country in the mentioned fund or the amount of its participation in its increase is proportional to the contribution of that country for the year during which the fund was constituted or decided to increase it. c) The proportion and modalities of payment shall be determined by the Assembly, at the proposal of the Director-General and after the opinion of the Coordination Committee of the (7) a) The headquarters agreement concluded with the country on whose territory the Organization is based provides that, if the bearing fund is insufficient, that country shall grant advance amounts. The amount of these amounts in advance and the conditions under which they are granted shall, in each case, be subject to separate agreements between the country concerned and the Organization. b) Country referred to in lett. a) and the Organization have, each, the right to denounce their commitment to grant amounts in advance by written notice. The denunciation shall take effect 3 years after the end of the year in which it was notified. ((8) The clearance of accounts shall be ensured, in accordance with the arrangements laid down by the Financial Regulation, by one or more countries of the Special Union or by external controllers who are, with their consent, appointed by the Assembly. + Article 10 Review of arrangement ((. This arrangement may be periodically reviewed by special conferences of the countries of the Special Union. (2) The convocation of the revision conferences shall be decided by the Assembly. (3) Articles 7 to 9 and 11 may be amended either by revision conferences or in accordance with the provisions of art. 1. + Article 11 Amendment of some provisions of the arrangement (1) Proposals may be submitted for amendments to art. 7 7-9 and this Article by any country of the Special Union or by the Director-General. These proposals shall be communicated by the Director-General to the countries of the Special Union at least 6 months before the Assembly is examined. (2) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. 1 1) shall be adopted by the Assembly. Three-fourths of the number of votes cast are required for adoption; however, for any amendment of art. 7 7 and of this paragraph, four fifths of the votes cast shall be required. (3) a) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. (1) shall enter into force one month after the receipt by the Director General of written acceptance notices, carried out in accordance with their respective constitutional rules, from three quarters of the number of countries that were members of the The special union at the time the amendment was adopted. b) Any modification of the respective articles, thus accepted, links all countries that are members of the Special Union when the amendment takes effect; however, any change that increases the financial obligations of the countries The special union shall bind only those who have notified the acceptance of that amendment. c) Any change accepted according to the provisions of a) bind all countries that become members of the Special Union after the date on which the amendment came into force according to lit. a). + Article 12 Ways that countries can become parties to the arrangement ((1) Any country, party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, may become a party to this Agreement by: ((i) its signature, followed by the deposit of an instrument of ratification; or (ii) the lodging of an instrument of accession. ((. The instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Director-General. (3) Provisions art. 24 of the Stockholm Act of the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property applies to this arrangement. ((4) Alin. (3) must in no case be interpreted as implying the tacit recognition or acceptance by any of the countries of the Special Union of the factual situation of any territory to which this arrangement applies by another country, on the basis of that paragraph. + Article 13 Entry into force of the arrangement ((1) a) This Agreement shall enter into force one year after the deposit of the instruments of ratification or accession: ((i) by two thirds of the number of countries which, on the date on which this arrangement is opened, are parties to the European Convention; and (ii) by three parties which are parties to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property, but which are not parties to the European Convention, at least one of them must be a country where, according to the latest annual statistics published by the International Bureau at the time of the deposit of its instrument of ratification or accession, more than 40,000 applications for patents or certificates of invention have been submitted. b) As regards any country outside those for which the arrangement has entered into force according to the provisions of lett. a), this Agreement shall enter into force one year after the date on which the ratification or accession of that country was notified by the Director-General, provided that no later date has been indicated in the instrument of ratification or of accession. In the latter case, as regards that country, this Agreement shall enter into force on the date so indicated. c) Countries which are parties to the European Convention, which ratify this Agreement or that accede to it, are obliged to denounce this Convention at the latest with effect from the date on which this Agreement will enter into force in what they Look. (2) Ratification or accession shall legally entail adherence to all clauses and access to all the advantages stipulated by this Agreement. + Article 14 Duration of arrangement This arrangement has the same duration as the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property. + Article 15 Denunciation ((. Any country of the Special Union may denounce this Agreement by a notification addressed to the Director-General. ((. Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which the Director-General received the notification. ((. The possibility of denunciation provided for in this Article may not be exercised by a country before the end of a period of 5 years from the date on which it became a member of the Special Union. + Article 16 Signing, official languages, notifications, depositary functions ((1) a) This arrangement is signed in a single original copy, in English and French, the two texts having the same authenticity. b) This arrangement shall remain open to the signing in Strasbourg until 30 September 1971. c) The original example of this arrangement, when it is no longer open to the signing, shall be submitted to the Director General. (. The Director-General shall establish official texts, after consulting the interested governments, in the German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian and other languages which the Assembly will be able to specify. (3) a) The Director-General shall attest and transmit two copies of the signed text of this Agreement to the governments of the countries which signed it and, upon request, to the Government of any other In addition, he attests and sends a copy to the Secretary General of the Council of b) The Director-General shall attest and transmit two copies of any amendment to the present arrangement to the governments of all the countries of the Special Union and, upon request, to In addition, he attests and sends a copy to the Secretary General of the Council of c) The Director-General delivered, upon request, to the Government of any country which has signed this Agreement or which adheres to it, a copy, certificate for conformity, of the classification in English or French. (4) a) The Director-General shall arrange for the registration of this Agreement with the Secretariat of (b) The Director-General shall notify the governments of all countries which are parties to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property and the Secretary-General of ((i) signatures; (ii) the deposit of instruments of ratification or accession; (iii) the date of entry into force of this Agreement; (iv) restrictions on the application of classification; (v) acceptance of amendments to this Agreement; ((vi) the dates on which those amendments come into force; (vii) denunciations received. + Article 17 Transitional provisions (1) During the 2 years after the entry into force of this Agreement, the sour countries are parties to the European Convention, but which are not yet members of the Special Union, may, if they wish, exercise within the Committee of Experts the same rights as if they were members of the Special Union. (2) During the 3 years after the end of the period provided in par. ((1), the countries referred to in that paragraph may be represented by observers at the sessions of the Committee of Experts and, if it decides, those of the subcommittees and working groups established by it. During the same period, they may submit proposals to modify the classification based on the provisions of art. 5 (5) and shall receive the notification of the decisions and recommendations of the Committee of Experts on the basis of 6 6 (1). (3) During the 5 years after the entry into force of this Agreement, the countries which are parties to the European Convention but not yet members of the Special Union may be represented by observers at the meetings of the Assembly and, if this decides, to those of the committees and working groups set up by it. + THE VIENNA ARRANGEMENT establishing the international classification of the figurative elements of the trade marks, drawn up in Vienna on 12 June 1973 and amended on 1 October 1985 *) Note * *) Translation. + Article 1 Establishment of a special union; adoption of an international classification The countries to which this arrangement applies shall be constituted as a special union and shall adopt a common classification for the figurative elements of the marks, hereinafter referred to as the classification of the figurative elements. + Article 2 Definition and filing of classification of figurative elements ((. The classification of the figurative elements shall consist of a list of the categories, divisions and sections in which the figurative elements of the marks are classified, accompanied, if appropriate, by explanatory notes. (2) This classification is contained in an original copy, in English and French, signed by the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, hereinafter referred to as the Director-General and the Organization, and it is submitted to it at the time when this arrangement is subject to signature. (3) The amendments and additions referred to in art. 5 (3) (i) are also contained in an original copy, in English and French, signed by the Director-General and submitted to it. + Article 3 Official languages of the classification of figurative elements (1) The classification of figurative elements is drawn up in English and French, both texts having the same authenticity. (2) The International Office of the Organization, hereinafter referred to as the International Office, shall establish official texts of the classification of figurative elements, in the languages on which the Assembly referred to in art. 7 will be able to designate them based on the provisions of para. ((2) a) (vi) of that Article, consulting with interested governments. + Article 4 Application of classification of figurative elements (1) Subject to the obligations imposed by this arrangement, the extent of the classification of the figurative elements is that which is attributed to it by each country of the Special Union. In particular, the classification of figurative elements does not bind the countries of the Special Union with regard to the extent of protection (. The competent administrations of the countries of the Special Union shall be entitled to apply the classification of figurative elements as a main system or as an auxiliary system (3) The competent administrations of the countries of the Special Union shall indicate, in the titles and official publications of the records and renewals of marks, the numbers of the categories, divisions and sections in which the elements must be framed figurative of those marks. (4) These numbers will be preceded by the words "classification of figurative elements" or a shorthand decided by the Committee of Experts referred to in art. 5. ((5) Any country may declare, at the time of signature or deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession, that it reserves the right not to indicate the numbers of all or part of the sections in the official titles and publications of the records or brand renewals. (6) If a country of the Special Union entrusts the registration of trade marks to an intergovernmental administration, it shall take all possible measures to ensure that such administration applies the classification of the figurative elements + Article 5 Committee of experts (1) An expert committee has been established, in which each country of the Special Union is represented. (2) a) The Director-General may and, at the request of the Committee of Experts, invite countries not members of the Special Union, which are members of the Organization or which are parties to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Property industrial, to be represented by observers at the meetings of the Committee of Experts. b) The Director-General shall invite specialised trade mark intergovernmental organisations, of which at least one of the Member States is party to this Agreement, to be represented by observers at the meetings of the Committee of Experts. c) The Director-General may and, at the request of the Committee of Experts, invite representatives of other intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations to take part in the discussions that interest them. ((. The Committee of Experts shall: ((i) amend and supplement the classification of figurative elements; (ii) address recommendations to the countries of the Union in order to facilitate the use of the classification of figurative elements and to promote its uniform application; ((iii) take any other measures which, without having financial repercussions on the budget of the Special Union or for the Organization, are likely to facilitate the application of the classification of figurative elements by developing countries; ((iv) is empowered to constitute sub-committees and working groups. (. The Committee of Experts shall adopt its internal rules. This Regulation gives the intergovernmental organisations referred to in paragraph 1 ((2) b), which may make a substantial contribution to the development of the classification of figurative elements, the possibility to take part in the meetings of the subcommittees and working groups of the Committee of Experts. ((5) The proposals for amending or supplementing the classification of figurative elements may be made by the competent administration of any country of the Special Union, by the International Bureau, by intergovernmental organizations represented in Committee of experts based on the provisions of para. ((2) b) and by any country or organisation specifically invited by the Expert Committee to formulate such proposals. The proposals shall be communicated to the International Bureau, which shall submit to the members of the Committee of Experts and observers no later than two months before the session of the Committee of Experts during which they will be examined. ((a) Each Member State of the Committee of Experts shall have one vote. b) The Committee of Experts shall take decisions with the simple majority of the countries represented by voting rights. c) Any decision that a fifth of the number of represented countries that vote considers it to bring a transformation of the basic structure of the classification of figurative elements or that implying an important reclassification activity must be taken with the majority of three-fourths of the number of represented countries voting d) Abholding does not consider voting. + Article 6 Notification, entry into force and publication of amendments, additions and other decisions ((. All decisions of the Committee of Experts on amendments or additions to the classification of the figurative elements and the recommendations of the Committee of Experts shall be notified by the International Office to the competent administrations of the Special union countries Amendments and additions shall enter into force 6 months after the date of transmission of the notifications. (2) The international bureau shall include in the classification of figurative elements the amendments and additions entered into force. The amendments and additions are subject to the opinions published in the periodicals established by the Assembly referred to 7. + Article 7 Special Union Assembly (. a) The special Union shall have a meeting composed of the countries of the Special Union b) The Government of each country of the Special Union shall be represented by a delegate, who may be assisted by alternates, advisers and experts. c) Any intergovernmental organization referred to in art. 5 (2) b) may be represented by an observer at the meetings of the Assembly and, if the Assembly decides, those of the committees and working groups established by the Assembly. d) The expenditure of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has designated it. ((2) a) Subject to the provisions of art. 5, Assembly: ((i) deal with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the application of this Agreement; (ii) give guidance to the International Bureau on the preparation of review conferences; ((iii) examine and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General in respect of the Special Union and give him any useful indication of matters falling within the competence of the Special ((iv) fix the programme, adopt the special Union budget and approve its winding-up accounts; ((v) adopt the Financial Regulation of the Special Union; ((vi) decide to draw up official texts of the classification of figurative elements in languages other than English and French; ((vii) set up the committees and working groups it considers useful for the achievement of the objectives of the Special Union; (viii) decides, subject to the provisions of par. ((1) c), which are non-members of the Special Union and which are intergovernmental and international non-governmental organisations which may be admitted as observers to its meetings and to those of the committees and working groups established by it; (ix) undertake any other appropriate action in order to meet the objectives of the Special Union; ((x) shall be paid by any other tasks involved in this arrangement. b) The Assembly decides on the issues of interest and other unions administered by the Organization, after becoming aware of the opinion of the Coordination Committee of the Organization. (3) A) Each Member State of the Assembly shall have one vote. b) Most of the members of the Assembly constitute a quorum. c) If the quorum is not met, the Assembly may take decisions; however, the decisions of the Assembly, except those concerning its procedure, shall not become enforceable unless the conditions set out below are met. The international office shall communicate those decisions to the Member States of the Assembly which were not represented, inviting them to express in writing within a period of 3 months from the date of such communication, the vote or the abstention. If, at the expiry of that period, the number of countries which have expressed their vote or abstention is at least equal to the number of countries whose absence prevented the quorum from being set up during the session, those decisions shall become enforceable, with the condition that, at the same time, the majority needed to remain met. d) Subject to art. 11 (2), the decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a majority of two thirds of the votes cast. e) Abholding does not consider voting. f) A delegate may represent only one country and shall only vote on its behalf. (4) a) The Assembly shall meet once every 2 years in ordinary session, at the convocation of the Director-General and, apart from exceptional cases, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization. b) The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session, at the convocation addressed by the Director-General and at the request of a fourth of the members of the Assembly. c) The agenda of each session shall be drawn up by the Director-General. (. The Assembly shall adopt its internal rules. + Article 8 International Bureau (1) (a) The administrative tasks of the Special Union shall be provided by the International Bureau. b) In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare meetings and ensure the secretariat of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and any other committee or working group that the Assembly or the Committee of Experts may set up. c) The Director-General has the highest office in the Special Union and represents it. (. The Director-General and any staff member designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, at all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts and any other committee or working group that the Assembly or the Committee of Experts can set up The Director-General or a staff member appointed by him shall be, ex officio, secretary of those bodies. (3) a) The International Bureau shall prepare the revision conferences; in accordance with the Assembly directives. b) The international office may consult intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations on the preparation of review conferences. c) The Director-General and the persons designated by him shall take part, without the right to vote, at the deliberations of the review conferences (. The International Bureau shall carry out any tasks assigned to it. + Article 9 Finance (. a) The special Union shall have a budget. b) The budget of the Special Union includes its own receipts and expenses, its contribution to the budget of the expenses common to the unions administered by the Organization, and, if applicable, the amount made available to the budget of the Organization of c) They shall be regarded as expenditure common to the unions administered by the Organization for expenditure not exclusively assigned to the Special Union, but also to one or more other unions. The part of the Special Union within the framework of these common expenditure shall be proportionate to the benefit which those expenses represent to it (. The budget of the Special Union shall be determined taking into account the coordination requirements with the budgets of other unions administered by the Organization. (3) The special Union budget shall be financed from the following funds (i) contributions from the countries of the (ii) the fees and amounts due for services offered by the International Office on behalf of the Special Union (iii) the product following the sale of publications of the International Office on the Special Union and the rights attached to those publications (iv) donations, testamentary provisions and subsidies; ((v) rents, interest and other income. (4) a) In order to establish its contribution part within the meaning of the provisions of par. ((3) (ii), each country of the Special Union belongs to the class in which it was assigned to the Paris Union on the protection of industrial property and pays its annual contribution on the basis of the number of units established for that class in that union. b) The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union shall consist of an amount whose ratio to the total amount of the annual contributions to the budget of the Special Union of all countries is the same as the ratio between the number of the framed and the total number of units of all countries. c) Contributions shall be paid on 1 January of each year. d) A country that has been late to pay its contributions cannot exercise its right to vote in any of the special Union bodies, if the amount of its outstanding is equal to or greater than that of the contributions it owes for the two years ended. However, such a country may be allowed to retain the exercise of the right to vote within that body, as long as it considers that the delay stems from exceptional and unavoidable circumstances. e) If the budget is not adopted before the start of a new financial year, the budget of the previous year shall be renewed, in accordance with the arrangements provided for in the Financial Regulation. (5) The amount of the fees and amounts due for the services offered by the International Bureau in the special Union of the Union shall be determined by the Director General, who shall report (6) a) The special Union shall have a bearing fund consisting of a single payment made by each country of the special Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly decides to increase it. b) The amount of the initial varmatory of each country to the said fund or the amount of its participation in its increase shall be proportionate to the contribution of that country in respect of the year in which the fund is to be established c) The proportion and modalities of the payment shall be decided by the Assembly, on a proposal from the Director-General and after the opinion of the Coordination Committee of the Organization (7) A) The establishment agreement concluded with the country on whose territory the Organization is established provides that, if the bearing fund is insufficient, that country shall grant advance amounts. The amount of these amounts in advance and the conditions under which they are granted shall, in each case, be subject to separate agreements between the country concerned and the Organization. b) Country referred to in lett. a) and the Organization have, each, the right to denounce the obligation to grant amounts in advance, through a written notification. The denunciation shall take effect 3 years after the end of the year in which it was notified. ((8) The clearance of accounts shall be ensured, in accordance with the arrangements laid down by the Financial Regulation, by one or more of the countries of the Special Union or by external controllers which are, with their consent, designated by the Assembly. + Article 10 Review of arrangement ((. This arrangement may be periodically reviewed by special conferences of the countries of the Special Union. (2) The convocation of the revision conferences shall be decided by the Assembly. (3) Articles 7 to 9 and 11 may be amended either by revision conferences or in accordance with the provisions of art. 11. + Article 11 Amendment of some provisions of the arrangement (1) Proposals for amending art. 7 7-9 and this Article may be presented by any country of the Special Union or by the Director-General. These proposals shall be communicated by the Director-General to the countries of the Special Union at least 6 months before they are examined by the Assembly. (2) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. (1) shall be adopted by the Assembly. Three-fourths of the number of votes cast are required for adoption; however, for any amendment of art. 7 7 and of this paragraph, four fifths of the votes cast shall be required. (3) a) Any modification of the articles referred to in par. (1) shall enter into force, one month after the receipt by the Director-General of written notifications of acceptance, carried out in accordance with their respective constitutional rules, from three quarters of the number of countries that were members of Special Union on the date on which the amendment was adopted. b) Any modification of the respective articles, thus accepted, links all countries that are members of the Special Union when the amendment takes effect; however, any change that increases the financial obligations of the countries The special union shall only bind those who have notified the acceptance of that amendment. c) Any change accepted according to the provisions of a) bind all countries that become members of the Special Union after the date on which the amendment came into force according to lit. a). + Article 12 How countries can become part of the arrangement (1) Any country which is party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property may become a party to this Agreement by: ((i) its signature, followed by the deposit of an instrument of ratification; or (ii) the lodging of an instrument of accession. ((. The instruments of ratification or accession shall be deposited with the Director-General. (3) Provisions art. 24 of the Stockholm Act of the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property applies to this arrangement. ((4) Alin. ((3) should not be interpreted in any event as involving the tacit recognition or acceptance, by any of the countries of the Special Union, of the factual situation of any territory to which this arrangement applies by another country, on the basis of that paragraph. + Article 13 Entry into force of the arrangement ((1) As regards the five countries which have deposited their first, instruments of ratification or accession, this Agreement shall enter into force 3 months after the deposit of the fifth instrument of ratification or accession. (2) In respect of any country, other than those for which the arrangement comes into force according to par. (1), this Agreement entered into force 3 months after the date on which its ratification or accession was notified by the Director-General, provided that a later date had not been indicated in the instrument of ratification or of accession. In the latter case, in respect of that country, this Agreement shall enter into force on the date so indicated. (3) Ratification or accession shall legally entail adherence to all clauses and access to all the advantages stipulated by this Agreement. + Article 14 Duration of arrangement This arrangement has the same duration as the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property. + Article 15 Denunciation ((. Any country of the Special Union may denounce this Agreement by a notification addressed to the Director-General. ((. Denunciation shall take effect one year after the date on which the Director-General received the notification. ((. The possibility of denunciation provided for in this Article may not be exercised by a country before the end of a period of 5 years from the date on which it became a member of the Special Union. + Article 16 Differences (1) Any dispute between two or more countries of the Special Union on the interpretation or application of this Agreement, which shall not be resolved by way of negotiations, may be brought by any of the countries concerned before the Court of Justice. International Justice by a request in accordance with the Statute of the Court, provided that the countries concerned do not establish another way of settling. The international office will be informed by the requesting country of the dispute submitted to the International Court of Justice and will bring this to the attention of the other countries of the Special Union. ((. Any country may declare, when it signs this Agreement or deposit its instrument of ratification or accession, that it does not consider itself engaged by the provisions of paragraph 1. ((1). With regard to any dispute between a country which has made such a declaration and any other country of the Special Union, the provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply. ((1) shall not apply. (3) Any country that has made a declaration according to the provisions of par. ((2) may withdraw it, at any time, by a notification addressed to the Director-General. + Article 17 Signing, official languages, depositary duties, notifications ((1) a) This arrangement shall be signed in a single original copy, in English and French, the two texts having the same validity. b) This arrangement shall remain open to signature in Vienna until 31 December 1973. c) The original example of this arrangement, when it is not open to the signing, shall be submitted to the Director General. (. The Director-General shall establish official texts, after consulting the interested governments, in the other languages which the Assembly will be able to establish. (3) The Director General shall attest and transmit two copies of the signed text of this Agreement to the governments of the countries which signed it and, upon request, to the Government of any other country b) The Director-General shall attest and transmit two copies, with any modification, from the present arrangement to the governments of all the countries of the Special Union and, upon request, to c) The Director-General shall, upon request, present to the Government of any country which has signed this Agreement or which adheres to it, two copies, attested in conformity, of the classification of figurative elements, in English and French. d) The Director-General shall have the registration of this Agreement with the Secretariat (. The Director-General shall notify the governments of all countries which are parties to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property (i) signatures submitted in accordance with paragraph 1. ((1); (ii) the deposit of instruments of ratification or accession according to the provisions of art. 12 12 (2); (iii) the date of entry into force of this Agreement according to art. 13 13 (1); (iv) statements made according to art. 4 4 (5); (v) statements and notifications made on the basis of art. 12 12 (3); (vi) statements made according to art. 16 16 (2); (vii) withdrawals of all declarations notified according to art. 16 16 (3); (viii) acceptance of amendments to this arrangement according to art. 11 11 (3); (ix) the dates on which these amendments come into force; (x) denunciations received according to art. 15. ---------------