(1) The countries to which this Agreement applies constitute a special Union and adopt a common classification of goods and services for the purposes of the registration of marks (hereinafter referred to as "classification").

2) Classification includes:

(i)

A list of classes, accompanied, where appropriate, by explanatory notes;

(ii)

An alphabetical list of goods and services (hereinafter referred to as "alphabetical list"), with the indication of the class in which each product or service is filed.

(3) The Classification consists of:

(i)

The Classification which was published in 1971 by the International Bureau of Intellectual Property (hereinafter referred to as "the International Bureau") referred to in the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization ¹ , it being understood, however, that the explanatory notes to the list of classes contained in this publication will be considered provisional and as recommendations until the Explanatory Notes to the Class List are Established by the Committee of Experts referred to in Art. 3,

(ii)

The amendments and additions which have entered into force, in accordance with Art. 4. (1) of the Nice Agreement of June 15, 1957 ² And the Stockholm Act of 14 July 1967 ³ Of this Agreement, before the entry into force of this Act;

(iii)

Subsequent changes under s. 3 of this Act and which come into force in accordance with Art. (4.1) of this Act.

(4) The Classification shall be in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic.

5)

(a) The classification referred to in para. (3) (i), as well as the amendments and additions referred to in para. (3) (ii) which have entered into force before the date on which this Act is open for signature, shall be contained in a genuine copy, in the French language, deposited with the Director General of the World Property Organization Intellectual Property (hereinafter referred to as "Director General" and "Organization"). The amendments and additions referred to in para. (3) (ii) which shall enter into force after the date on which this Act is open for signature shall also be deposited in a genuine copy, in the French language, with the Director General.

(b)

The English version of the texts referred to in subparagraph (a) shall be established by the Committee of Experts referred to in Art. 3 promptly after the entry into force of this Act. His authentic copy shall be deposited with the Director General.

(c)

The changes referred to in para. (3) (iii) shall be deposited in an authentic copy, in the English and French languages, with the Director General.

(6) The Director General shall, after consulting the governments concerned, establish either on the basis of a translation proposed by those Governments or by means of any other means which would have no financial impact on the budget of the Union Or for the Organization, official texts of the Classification in the German, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and other languages may be designated by the Assembly referred to in Art. 5.

(7) The alphabetical list shall indicate, in relation to each indication of product or service, an order number specific to the language in which it is established, with:

(i)

In the case of an alphabetical list established in the English language, the serial number of the same indication in the alphabetical list established in French, and vice versa;

(ii)

If it is an alphabetical list established in accordance with para. 6), the serial number that the same indication carries in the alphabetical list established in the French language or in the alphabetical list established in the English language.

(1) Subject to the obligations imposed by this Agreement, the scope of the Classification shall be that attributed to it by each country of the Special Union. In particular, the classification shall not be binding on the countries of the Special Union or on the assessment of the extent of the protection of the mark, nor on the recognition of service marks.

(2) Each country of the Special Union reserves the right to apply the Classification as a principal or ancillary system.

(3) The competent authorities of the countries of the Special Union shall include in the official titles and publications of the registrations of marks the numbers of the classes of the Classification to which the goods or services belong For which the mark is registered.

(4) The fact that a name appears in the alphabetical list does not affect any rights that may exist in that name.

(1) A Committee of Experts shall be set up in which each of the countries of the Special Union shall be represented.

2)

(a) The Director General may, at the request of the Committee of Experts, invite foreign countries to the Special Union which are members of the Organization or parties to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property ¹ Be represented by observers at the meetings of the Committee of Experts.

(b)

The Director General shall invite the intergovernmental organizations specialized in the field of trademarks, of which at least one member country 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, at the request of the Committee of Experts, invite representatives of other intergovernmental organizations and international non-governmental organizations to participate in the discussions of interest to them.

3) The Committee of Experts:

(i)

Decides on changes to the classification;

(ii)

Address to the countries of the Special Union recommendations to facilitate the use of the Classification and to promote its uniform application,

(iii)

Takes any other measures which, without having any financial implications for the budget of the Special Union or for the Organization, are likely to facilitate the application of the Classification by developing countries;

(iv)

Has the authority to establish sub-committees and working groups.

(4) The Committee of Experts shall adopt its rules of procedure. The latter gives the intergovernmental organizations referred to in para. (2) (b) which may make a substantial contribution to the development of the Classification the possibility of taking part in the meetings of the sub-committees and working groups of the Committee of Experts.

(5) Proposals for changes to the Classification may be made by the competent authority of any country of the Special Union, the International Bureau, the intergovernmental organizations represented on the Committee of Experts Pursuant to para. (2) (b) and any country or organization specially invited by the Committee of Experts 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 observers no later than two months before the session of the Committee of Experts during which they will be considered.

(6) Each country of the Special Union shall have one vote.

7)

(a) Subject to subparagraph (b), the Committee of Experts shall take its decisions by a simple majority of the countries of the Special Union represented and voting.

(b)

Decisions concerning the adoption of amendments to the Classification shall be taken by a majority of four-fifths of the countries of the Special Union represented and voting. By modification, any transfer of goods or services from one class to another, or the creation of any new class, must be understood.

(c)

The rules of procedure referred to in para. (4) provides that, in the absence of special cases, amendments to the Classification shall be adopted at the end of specified periods; the Committee of Experts shall fix the length of each period.

(8) Abstentions shall not be considered as votes.

(1) The changes decided by the Committee of Experts, together with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts, shall be notified to the competent authorities of the countries of the Special Union by the International Bureau. The amendments shall enter into force six months after the date of dispatch of the notification. Any other change shall enter into force on the date fixed by the Committee of Experts at the time the change is adopted.

(2) The International Bureau shall incorporate into the Classification the changes which have entered into force. Such changes shall be the subject of notices published in periodicals designated by the Assembly referred to in Art. 5.

1)

(a) The Special Union shall have an Assembly consisting of those countries which have ratified or acceded to this Act.

(b)

The Government of each country is represented by one delegate, who may be assisted by alternate delegates, advisors and experts.

(c)

The expenses of each delegation shall be borne by the Government which has appointed it.

2)

(a) Subject to the provisions of art. 3 and 4, the Assembly:

(i)

Deals with all matters concerning the maintenance and development of the Special Union and the application of this Agreement,

(ii)

Gives the International Bureau guidelines for the preparation of revision conferences, taking due account of the comments of the countries of the Special Union that have not ratified or acceded to this Act;

(iii)

Shall 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 shall give him all relevant guidance on matters of the competence of the Union Particular;

(iv)

Adopts the programme, adopts the biennial budget ¹ The Special Union and approves its closing accounts;

(v)

Adopt the Financial Regulation of the Special Union;

(vi)

Creates, in addition to the Committee of Experts referred to in Art. 3, the other committees of experts and working groups which it considers relevant to the achievement of the objectives of the Special Union;

(vii)

Decide which countries are not members of the Special Union and which intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations may be admitted to its meetings as observers;

(viii)

Adopts the amendments to s. 5 to 8,

(ix)

Undertake any other appropriate action to achieve the objectives of the Special Union;

X)

Perform all other tasks implied by this Agreement.

(b)

On matters which are also of interest to other Unions administered by the Organization, the Assembly shall decide on the opinion of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

3)

(a) Each country member of the Assembly shall have one vote.

(b)

One half of the countries that are members of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum.

(c)

Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (b), if, at a session, the number of countries represented is less than one-half but equal to or more than one-third of the member countries of the Assembly, the latter may make 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 Bureau shall communicate the said decisions to the countries members of the Assembly which were not represented, by inviting them to express in writing, within three months from the date of the said communication, their vote or Abstention. If, at the end of that period, the number of countries that have thus expressed their vote or abstention is at least equal to the number of countries that were not present for the quorum to be attained at the session, such decisions shall become enforceable, Provided that, at the same time, the necessary majority remains.

(d)

Subject to the provisions of Art. 8.2), the decisions of the Assembly shall be taken by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast.

(e)

Abstentions shall not be considered as a vote.

(f)

A delegate may represent only one country and may vote only on behalf of that country.

(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 two years ² In ordinary session upon convocation by the Director General and, in the absence of exceptional circumstances, during the same period and at the same place as the General Assembly of the Organization.

(b)

The Assembly shall meet in extraordinary session upon convocation by the Director General, at the request of a quarter of the member countries of the Assembly.

(c)

The agenda for each session shall be prepared by the Director General.

(5) The Assembly shall adopt its rules of procedure.

1)

(a) The administrative tasks of the Special Union shall be performed by the International Bureau.

(b)

In particular, the International Bureau shall prepare the meetings and shall provide the Secretariat of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts, and any other committees of experts and working groups which the Assembly or the Committee of Experts may create.

(c)

The Director-General shall be the most senior official of the Special Union and shall represent it.

(2) The Director General and any staff member designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts, and any other committee of experts or working groups of the Assembly or the Committee Experts can create. The Director General or a staff member designated by him shall be ex officio secretary of those bodies.

3)

(a) The International Bureau, as directed by the Assembly, shall prepare the conferences of revision of the provisions of the Agreement other than s. 5 to 8.

(b)

The International Bureau may consult with intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations on the preparation of revision conferences.

(c)

The Director General and the persons designated by him shall participate, without the right to vote, in the proceedings in those conferences.

(4) The International Bureau shall carry out any other tasks assigned to it.

1)

(a) The Special Union shall have a budget.

(b)

The budget of the Special Union shall include the revenue and expenditure specific to the Special Union, its contribution to the budget of the expenses common to the Unions, and, where appropriate, the amount made available to the budget of the Conference of The Organization.

(c)

Expenses which are not exclusively attributable to the Special Union but also to one or more other Unions administered by the Organization shall be considered as expenses common to the Unions. The share of the Special Union in these common expenses shall be in proportion to the interest that these expenses show for it.

(2) The budget of the Special Union shall be adopted taking into account the requirements of coordination with the budgets of the other Unions administered by the Organization.

3) The budget of the Special Union shall be financed by the following resources:

(i)

Contributions from the countries of the Special Union;

(ii)

Fees and charges due for services rendered by the International Bureau in respect of the Special Union;

(iii)

Proceeds from the sale of the publications of the International Bureau concerning the Special Union and the rights relating to those publications;

(iv)

Gifts, bequests and grants,

(v)

Rents, interest, and other miscellaneous income.

4)

(a) To determine its contribution towards the meaning of para. (3) (i), each country of the Special Union shall belong to the class in which it is filed in respect of the Paris Union for the protection of industrial property, and shall pay its annual contributions on the basis of the number of units Determined for this class in this Union.

(b)

The annual contribution of each country of the Special Union shall consist of an amount whose ratio to the total sum of the annual contributions to the budget of the Special Union of all countries is the same as the ratio of the number of units Of the class in which it is stored and the total number of units of all countries.

(c)

Contributions are due on the first of January of each year.

(d)

A country in arrears in the payment of its contributions shall not exercise its right to vote in any of the bodies of the Special Union if the amount of its arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions of which it is liable for the two Complete years.

However, such a country may be allowed to retain the exercise of its right to vote in that body as long as the latter considers that the delay is the result of exceptional and unavoidable circumstances.

(e)

In the event that the budget is not adopted before the start of a new financial year, the budget for the previous year shall be renewed in accordance with the rules laid down in the Financial Regulation.

(5) The amount of fees and amounts due for services rendered by the International Bureau under the Special Union shall be fixed by the Director General, who shall report to the Assembly.

6)

(a) The Special Union shall have a working capital fund consisting of a single payment made by each country of the Special Union. If the fund becomes insufficient, the Assembly decides on its increase.

(b)

The amount of the initial payment of each country to the said fund or its participation in its increase shall be proportionate to the contribution of that country for the year in which the fund is constituted or the increase decided upon.

(c)

The proportion and terms of payment shall be adopted by the Assembly, on the proposal of the Director General and after the advice of the Coordination Committee of the Organization.

7)

(a) The headquarters agreement with the country on whose territory the Organization has its headquarters provides that, if the working capital fund is insufficient, the country shall grant advances. The amount of such advances and the conditions under which they are granted shall, in each case, be the subject of separate agreements between the country concerned and the Organization.

(b)

The country referred to in subparagraph (a) and the Organization shall each have the right to denounce the undertaking to grant advances by written notification. Denunciation shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which it was notified.

(8) Account verification shall be carried out, in accordance with the arrangements laid down in the Financial Regulation, by one or more countries of the Special Union or by external auditors, who shall, with their consent, be appointed by the Assembly.

(1) Art modification positions. 5, 6, 7 and this Article may be presented by any country member of the Assembly or by the Director General. These proposals shall be communicated by the Assembly to the Member States of the Assembly at least six months before being submitted to the Assembly for consideration.

(2) Any amendment to the articles referred to in para. 1) is adopted by the Assembly. Adoption shall require three-fourths of the votes cast; however, any amendment to Article 5 and to this paragraph shall require four-fifths of the votes cast.

(3) Any amendment to the articles referred to in para. (1) shall enter into force one month after the receipt by the Director General of written notifications of acceptance, effected in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements, of the three-fourths of the countries which were members of The Assembly at the time when the amendment was adopted. Any amendment of the said Articles thus accepted shall bind all the countries which are members of the Assembly at the time when the amendment enters into force or become members at a later date; however, any amendment that increases the Financial obligations of the countries of the Special Union shall bind only those of them who have notified their acceptance of the amendment.

(1) Each of the countries of the Special Union which has signed this Act may ratify it and, if it has not signed it, may accede to it.

(2) Any country foreign to the Special Union, party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property ¹ , may accede to this Act and become, therefore, the country of the Special Union.

(3) Instruments of ratification and accession shall be deposited with the Director General.

4)

(a) This Act shall enter into force three 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 Act is opened for signature, are countries of the Special Union.

(b)

The entry into force referred to in subparagraph (a) shall be effective in respect of countries which, at least three months before the said entry into force, have deposited instruments of ratification or accession.

(c)

In respect of any country not covered by subparagraph (b), this Act shall enter into force three months after the date on which its ratification or accession has been notified by the Director General, unless a later date has been indicated in The instrument of ratification or accession. In the latter case, this Act shall enter into force, with respect to that country, on the date thus indicated.

(5) Ratification or accession shall entail the full accession to all clauses and admission to all the benefits stipulated by this Act.

(6) After the entry into force of this Act, no country may ratify or accede to an earlier Act of this Agreement.

This Agreement shall have the same duration as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property ¹ .

(1) This Agreement may be revised periodically by conferences of the countries of the Special Union.

(2) The convocation of conferences of revision shall be decided by the Assembly.

(3) Art. 5 to 8 may be amended either by a revision conference or pursuant to s. 8.

(1) Any country may denounce this Act by notification addressed to the Director General. Such denunciation shall also imply denunciation of the Act or of the earlier Acts of this Agreement which the country which denounces this Act has ratified or acceded to and produces its effect only in respect of the country which has made it, the Agreement Remaining in force and enforceable against the other countries of the Special Union.

(2) Denunciation shall take effect one year after the day on which the Director General has received the notification.

(3) The right of denunciation provided for in this Article shall not be exercised by any country before the expiration of five years from the date on which it became a country of the Special Union.

The provisions of Art. 24 of the 1967 Stockholm Act ¹ Of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property shall apply to this Agreement; however, if such provisions are amended in the future, the latest amendment shall apply to this Agreement with respect to the countries of The Special Union which is bound by this amendment.

1)

(a) This Act shall be signed in a single original in the English and French languages, both texts being equally authentic, and deposited with the Director General.

(b)

Official texts of this Act shall be established by the Director General, after consultation with the Governments concerned and within two months of the signature of this Act, in the other two languages, Spanish and Russian, in Which, in addition to the languages referred to in subparagraph (a), have been signed the authentic texts of the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization ¹ .

(c)

Official texts of this Act shall be established by the Director General, after consultation with the governments concerned, in the German, Arabic, Italian and Portuguese languages, and in the other languages which the Assembly may indicate.

(2) This Act shall remain open for signature until 31 December 1977.

3)

(a) The Director General shall certify and transmit two copies of the signed text of this Act to the Governments of all countries of the Special Union and, upon request, to the Government of any other country.

(b)

The Director General shall certify and transmit two copies of any amendment of this Act to the Governments of all countries of the Special Union and, upon request, to the Government of any other country.

(4) The Director General shall register this Act with the Secretariat of the United Nations.

(5) The Director General shall notify the Governments of all countries party to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property ² :

(i)

The signatures provided in accordance with para. 1);

(ii)

The deposit of instruments of ratification or accession according to Art. 9.3);

(iii)

The date of entry into force of this Act under Art. 9.4 (a);

(iv)

The acceptances of the amendments to this Act under s. 8.3);

(v)

The dates on which these amendments come into force,

(vi)

Denunciations received under s. 12.

In witness whereof, The undersigned, duly authorized to that effect, have signed this Act.

Done at Geneva on 13 May 1977.

(Suivent signatures)