What is Intellectual Property? > Designs > How to classify my articles?

How to classify my articles?

Your application must include a list of all articles which you want to register your designs with. You must list the articles in the class or classes they fall into. You should also state the number of class they fall into. Below is the general classification under the Locarno Classification (9th Edition) by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) which guide you how to find out the classes that your articles fall into.

Locarno Classification List

The International Classification for Industrial Designs ("the Locarno Classification") published by the World Intellectual Property Organization is the system adopted for classifying design articles. For details of the Locarno Classification, please refer to the website at http://www.wipo.int/classifications/fulltext/locarno/enmn01.htm. The class and sub-class of the registered design records show the classification at the time of registration of the registered designs. They are not re-classified in accordance with the latest edition of the Locarno classification published by WIPO. The Locarno Classification is "solely of an administrative character"; it facilitates design searches and obviates substantial reclassification work when documents are exchanged at the international level.

"Article" is defined in section 2 of the Registered Designs Ordinance (Cap. 522) as "any article of manufacture and includes any part of an article if that part is made and sold separately". Accordingly, you should state the article, whether it is an article of manufacture or part of an article, to which the design applied for registration applies in Application Form D1.

For example, if you wish to seek registration of a design in respect of ornamentation for handbags, the article and the classification should be stated as Ornamentation for handbags and 3-01 respectively in Application Form D1.