• The contracting parties,

  • Considering that the establishment of a unified global system for the classification of patents, inventor certificates, utility models, and utility certificates serves the public interest and is inherently aimed at fostering closer international cooperation in the field of industrial property and encouraging coordination among national legislations in this area,

  • And acknowledging the importance of the European Agreement on the International Classification of Patents dated December 19, 1954, under which the European Council established the International Classification of Patents,

  • And appreciating the global value of this classification and its significance for all contracting states to the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property,

  • And recognizing the importance this classification represents for developing countries, which facilitates their access to modern technology that continues to grow in scale,

  • And taking into account Article 19 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property dated March 20, 1883, as amended in Brussels on December 14, 1900, Washington on June 2, 1911, The Hague on November 6, 1925, London on June 2, 1934, Lisbon on October 31, 1958, and Stockholm on July 14, 1967.

  • Have agreed as follows:

The countries to which this agreement applies form a special union and acknowledge the use of a common classification for patents, inventor certificates, utility models, and utility certificates, known as the "International Patent Classification" (hereinafter referred to as the "Classification").

• (1)

  • (A) The classification includes:

    • 1- The text created in accordance with the provisions of the European Agreement on the International Classification of Patents dated December 19, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as "the European Agreement"), which came into effect and was published by the Secretary-General of the European Council on September 1, 1968.

    • 2- The amendments that came into effect in accordance with the provisions of Article 2(2) of the European Agreement prior to the entry into force of this Agreement.

    • 3- The amendments made thereafter in accordance with Article 5, which come into effect in accordance with the provisions of Article 6.

  • (B) The evidence and observations included in the text of the classification are an integral part of it.

• (2)

  • (A) The text referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(1) is provided in two original copies in English and French, which were deposited upon the opening of the signature of this Agreement with both the Secretary-General of the European Council and the Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the Director-General" and "the Organization"), which was established under the Agreement of July 14, 1976.

  • (B) The amendments referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(2) are deposited in two original copies, each in English and French, one with the Secretary-General of the European Council and the other with the Director-General.

  • (C) The amendments referred to in paragraph (1)(A)(3) are deposited in one original copy in English and French, with the Director-General.

• (1) The classification is prepared in both English and French, and both texts are original.

• (2) The International Bureau of the Organization (hereinafter referred to as "the International Bureau") prepares official texts for classification in German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and any other languages that may be determined by the Assembly referred to in Article 7, and this is done in consultation with the relevant governments, either based on a translation provided by these governments or by any other means that does not impose financial burdens on the budget of the special union or on the organization.

• (1) The classification shall have merely an administrative nature.

• (2) Each country of the special union has the right to use the classification as a basic or subsidiary system.

• (3) The competent authorities of the special union countries shall include:

  1. In what they issue of patents, certificates of inventors, utility models, and certificates of utility, and in the applications related to them that they publish or that they only make available to the public for the purpose of review,

  2. In the announcements that appear in the official journals for the purpose of informing about the publication of the documents referred to in subparagraph (1) or making them available to the public.

• The complete classification codes applicable to the invention subject to the document referred to in subparagraph (1).

• (4) Upon signing this agreement or upon depositing the documents of ratification or accession:

  1. Any country may declare its non-obligation to include the codes for main or subsidiary groups of the classification in the applications mentioned in paragraph (3) that are only made available to the public for the purpose of review, as well as in the related announcements.

  2. Any country that does not conduct an urgent or delayed examination of the novelty of the invention, which does not include in its procedures for granting patents or other types of protection a review of the technology, may declare its non-obligation to include the codes for the groups or subgroups of the classification in the documents and announcements referred to in paragraph (3). If these conditions are only met for certain types of protection or for specific fields of technology, the concerned country may exercise this reservation only to the extent that these conditions apply.

• (5) The classification codes shall be printed preceded by the phrase "International Patent Classification" or an abbreviation of this phrase determined by the expert committee mentioned in Article 5, prominently or in any other manner that makes them completely visible, at the top of each document referred to in paragraph (3)(1) that must include such codes.

  (6) If one of the countries of the special union grants the authority to issue patents to an international governmental authority, that country must take all possible measures to ensure that this authority will apply the classification in accordance with this article.

  
   

• (1) A committee of experts is established, representing each country of the special union.

• (2)

  •  (A) The Director-General invites international governmental organizations specialized in the field of patents, of which at least one member state is a party to this agreement, to be represented by observers at the meetings of the committee of experts.

  • (B) The Director-General may, and must if requested by the committee of experts, invite representatives from other governmental organizations as well as non-governmental international organizations to participate in discussions relevant to them.

• (3) The committee of experts shall do the following:

  • 1- Conduct classification amendments.

  • 2- Issue recommendations to the member states of the special union to facilitate the use of the classification and encourage its uniform application.

  • 3- Assist in promoting international cooperation for the reclassification of documents used in the examination of inventions, taking into special consideration the needs of developing countries.

  • 4- Take all other measures that contribute to facilitating the application of the classification by developing countries, provided that this does not impose financial burdens on the budget of the special union or the organization.

  • 5- Have the right to establish subcommittees and working groups.

• (4) The committee of experts shall establish its own rules of procedure. The rules of procedure shall include the possibility of participation of the aforementioned international governmental organizations in paragraph (2)(A), which can effectively contribute to the development of the classification, in the meetings of the subcommittees and working groups of the committee of experts.

• (5) Proposals for amending the classification may be submitted by the competent authority in any country of the special union, by the International Bureau, and by the international governmental organizations represented in the committee of experts under paragraph (2)(A), as well as any other organization specifically invited by the committee of experts to submit such proposals. The proposals shall be communicated to the International Bureau, which shall forward 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 the aforementioned proposals will be considered.

• (6)

  • (A) Each member state in the committee of experts shall have one vote.

  • (B) The committee of experts shall make its decisions by a simple majority of the represented states participating in the voting.

  • (C) Any decision that five of the represented states participating in the voting consider involves an amendment to the fundamental structure of the classification, or entails significant reclassification work, must be issued by a majority of three-quarters of the represented states participating in the voting.

  • (D) Abstention shall not be considered as a vote.

• (1) The International Bureau shall notify the competent authorities in the Union countries of all decisions made by the Expert Committee regarding the approval of classification amendments as well as the recommendations of the Expert Committee. The amendments shall come into effect six months from the date of sending the notification.

• (2) The International Bureau shall include the classification amendments that have come into effect. Announcements regarding the amendments shall be published in the journals specified by the Assembly referred to in Article 7.

• (1)

  • (A) The special union shall have an assembly composed of the member states of the special union.

  • (B) The government of each member state of the special union shall be represented by one delegate who may be assisted by alternates, advisors, and experts.

  • (C) Any governmental international organization referred to in Article 5(2)(A) may be represented by an observer at the assembly meetings as well as at the meetings of the committees and working groups established by the assembly, if the latter decides so.

  • (D) Each government shall bear the expenses of its appointed delegation.

• (2)

  • (A) Subject to the provisions of Article 5, the assembly shall do the following:

    • 1- Address all matters related to the maintenance and development of the special union and the implementation of this agreement.

    • 2- Provide the International Bureau with guidance regarding the preparation for amendment conferences.

    • 3- Review and approve the reports and activities of the Director-General of the organization related to the special union, and provide him with all necessary guidance regarding matters within the jurisdiction of the special union.

    • 4- Determine the program of the special union and approve its budget for the three years and its final accounts.

    • 5- Approve the financial regulation of the special union.

    • 6- Decide to issue official texts for classification in languages other than English and French and those specified in Article 3(2).

    • 7- Establish such expert committees and working groups as it deems appropriate to achieve the purposes of the special union.

    • 8- Determine, subject to paragraph (1)(C), who is allowed to attend its meetings and the meetings of the committees and working groups it establishes, as observers from non-member states of the special union and from governmental and non-governmental international organizations.

    • 9- Take any other appropriate action aimed at achieving the purposes of the special union.

    • 10- Undertake any other tasks that fall within the scope of this agreement.

  • (B) The assembly shall make its decisions regarding matters that also concern other unions managed by the organization after consulting the opinion of the organization's coordination committee.

• (3)

  • (A) Each member state in the assembly shall have one vote.

  • (B) A quorum shall consist of half the number of member states in the assembly.

  • (C) The assembly may make decisions if a quorum is not present. However, the assembly's decisions, other than those related to its procedures, shall not be effective unless the following conditions are met. The International Bureau shall notify the decisions to the member states of the assembly that were not represented and invite them to cast their votes or abstain in writing within three months from the date of that notification. If the number of states that cast their votes or abstained at the end of that period equals at least the number required to complete the quorum in that session, those decisions shall be effective provided that the required majority is still present at the same time.

  • (D) Subject to the provisions of Article 11(2), the assembly's decisions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of the votes that participated in the voting.

  • (E) Abstention shall not be considered as a vote.

  • (F) A delegate may represent only one state and may only vote on its behalf.

• (4)

  • (A) The assembly shall meet in a regular session once every three years at the invitation of the Director-General, and its meeting shall, except in exceptional cases, take place during the same period and at the same location as the General Assembly of the organization.

  • (B) The assembly shall meet in an extraordinary session at the invitation of the Director-General upon the request of one-quarter of the member states in the assembly.

  • (C) The Director-General shall prepare the agenda for each session.

• (5) The assembly shall establish its procedural regulations.

• (1)

  • (A) The International Office performs the administrative tasks of the Special Union.

  • (B) The International Office, in particular, prepares for meetings and provides secretarial work for the Assembly, the Committee of Experts, and other committees and working groups established by the Assembly or the Committee of Experts.

  • (C) The Director-General of the organization is the Chief Executive Officer of the Special Union and represents it.

• (2) The Director-General, and any member he designates from the staff of the International Office, participates in all meetings of the Assembly, the Committee of Experts, and any other committees or working groups that may have been established by the Assembly or the Committee of Experts without having the right to vote. The Director-General or any member he designates from the staff of the International Office serves as the secretary of these bodies by virtue of his position.

• (3)

  • (A) The International Office, in accordance with the directives of the Assembly, prepares for amendment conferences.

  • (B) The International Office may consult with governmental and non-governmental international organizations regarding the preparation for amendment conferences.

  • (C) The Director-General and the individuals he appoints participate in the discussions that take place at the amendment conferences without having the right to vote.

  • (D) The International Office carries out any other tasks assigned to it.

• (1)

  • (A) The private union shall have a budget.

  • (B) The budget of the private union includes its revenues and expenses, its contribution to the budget of shared expenses among unions, and, if necessary, the amount allocated to the budget of the organization's conference.

  • (C) Shared expenses among unions are those expenses that do not pertain solely to the private union but also to one or more of the other unions managed by the organization, and the share of the private union in these shared expenses is proportional to the benefit it derives from them.

• (2) The budget of the private union shall be prepared with consideration for the requirements of coordination with the budgets of other unions managed by the organization.

• (3) The budget of the private union is funded from the following sources:

  • (1) Contributions from the member states of the private union.

  • (2) Fees and amounts due for services provided by the international office related to the private union.

  • (3) Proceeds from the sale of publications of the international office related to the private union and the rights associated with these publications.

  • (4) Donations, bequests, and grants.

  • (5) Rents, interests, and other miscellaneous revenues.

• (4)

  • (A) To determine the share of each state mentioned in paragraph (3)(1), each member state of the private union belongs to the same category it belongs to in the Paris Union for the Protection of Industrial Property, and each state shall pay its annual share based on the same number of units corresponding to the category it belongs to in that union.

  • (B) The annual share for each state of the private union is an amount that is proportional to the total amount of annual contributions in the budget of the private union, equivalent to the ratio of the number of units of that state to the total number of units of all contributing states.

  • (C) Shares are due on January 1 of each year.

  • (D) A state that delays in paying its shares may not exercise its voting rights in any of the bodies of the private union if the amount of its overdue debts equals or exceeds the amount of shares due for the previous two years in full. However, any of the bodies of the private union may allow that state to continue exercising its voting rights in such a body as long as it is convinced that the delay in payment is due to exceptional circumstances that cannot be avoided.

  • (E) If the budget is not approved before the beginning of a new financial year, the budget shall remain at the same level as the budget of the previous year, in accordance with what is stipulated in the financial regulation.

• (5) The Director-General shall determine the amount of fees and amounts due for services provided by the international office for the benefit of the private union and shall report on them to the assembly.

• (6)

  • (A) The private union shall have a working capital fund consisting of a one-time amount paid by each member state of the private union. The assembly shall decide to increase the capital if it becomes insufficient.

  • (B) The amount of the initial payment for each state in the aforementioned capital and its participation in any increase shall be a percentage of that state's share for the year in which the capital is determined or its increase is decided.

  • (C) The assembly shall determine the percentage of the payment and the terms of payment based on a proposal from the Director-General and after consulting the opinion of the organization's coordination committee.

• (7)

  • (A) The headquarters agreement concluded with the state in which the organization's headquarters is located stipulates that when the working capital is insufficient, that state shall grant loans. The amount of these loans and the terms of granting them shall be subject to separate agreements in each case between that state and the organization.

  • (B) Each of the state mentioned in subparagraph (A) and the organization has the right to terminate the obligation to grant loans by written notification, and the termination shall take effect three years after the end of the year in which the notification was made.

• (8) The accounts shall be audited, in accordance with what is stipulated in the financial regulation, by one or more states of the private union or by external auditors appointed by the assembly after obtaining their consent.