The Federal Register Volume 81, Number 214 (Friday, November 4, 2016,Pages 76867-76870), 37 CFR Part 6, contains the following final rule:
SUMMARY:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issues a final rule to incorporate classification changes adopted by the Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Agreement). These changes are effective January 1, 2017, and are listed in the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (11th ed., ver. 2017), which is published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
DATES: This rule is effective on January 1, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Cain, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Examination Policy, at (571) 272-8946 or TMFRNotices@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose: As noted above, this final rule incorporates classification changes adopted by the Nice Agreement that will become effective on January 1, 2017. This rule benefits the public by providing notice regarding these changes.
Summary of Major Provisions: The USPTO is revising Sec. 6.1 in part 6 of title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations to incorporate classification changes and modifications that will become effective January 1, 2017, as listed in the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (11th ed., 2017) (Nice Classification), published by WIPO.
The Nice Agreement is a multilateral treaty, administered by WIPO, which establishes the international classification of goods and services for the purposes of registering trademarks and service marks. As of September 1, 1973, this international classification system is the controlling system used by the United States, and it applies to all applications filed on or after September 1, 1973, and their resulting registrations, for all statutory purposes. See 37 CFR 2.85(a). Every signatory to the Nice Agreement must utilize the international classification system.
For more information: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-11-04/html/2016-26682.htm