Angola, Sao Tomé and Principé and Zambia accept and use HBD

The National Service of Intellectual Property and Quality of São Tomé and Príncipe has taken a decision to accept and use the list of terms from the harmonised database of goods and services (HDB) in TMclass as of 12 December 2022.  TMclass helps search for and classify goods and services needed to apply for trademark protection.  It also can translate a list of goods and services and verify if those terms appear in the classification databases of participating offices. This brought the total number of participating national and regional IP offices, including ARIPO, OAPI, WIPO and the EUIPO, to 92.  The decision was made possible through the joint effort of EUIPO’s International Cooperation programme in collaboration with the EU funded project called Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Action for Africa (AfrIPI), which is directed by the European Commission and executed by EUIPO.

Shortly thereafter the Angolan Institute of Industrial Property (IAPI) and the Patents and Companies Registration Agency of Zambia (PACRA) also took decisions to accept and use the list of terms from HBD in TMclass as of 19 December 2022, bringing the total number of participating IP offices to 94.

Source: News – TMclass (europa.eu)