Committee Meetings

SCT: Work continues on Trademark Issues

The Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) met in Geneva from November 13 to 17.

New marks

The SCT continued to examine the different approaches by Member States to the representation and description of new marks, such as three-dimensional, audio, single color, hologram, and olfactory (smell) marks. One purpose of this work is to identify areas of convergence and to explore in greater detail the relationship between established trademark principles and new types of marks, for example, in terms of functionality, specialty and distinctiveness. The SCT also considered questions of public interest, including the need to safeguard the public domain.

Trademark opposition procedures

The SCT addressed the issue of trademark registration opposition procedures, which offer third parties the opportunity to oppose the registration of a trademark within a period of time provided by the applicable law. Delegates agreed to continue work on the grounds of opposition, to examine the experience of SCT Members with regard to pre-registration or post-registration opposition and to look into the relationship between given types of examination systems and their related opposition procedures.

International non-proprietary names for pharmaceutical products (INNs)

The SCT also agreed on a number of proposals for making information on INNs available to trademark administrations of interested countries, including the circulation of cumulative lists of INNs on CDs. This initiative, undertaken in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO), will help to prevent conflicts between INNs and trademarks, and to discourage the use as trademarks of commercial names derived from INNs.

The aim of the INN system is to provide health professionals with a universal naming system to identify all pharmaceutical substances. There are currently 8,000 INNs. Each one is unique and is globally recognized as the generic name for an active substance used in pharmaceutical preparations. With the growing number of INNs and trademarks, the possibility of conflicts between them has gradually increased...