Guatemala at the forefront of Intellectual Property

The Guatemalan Intellectual Property Registry (RPI-GT) has agreed to use and implement, as of 21 November, the list of terms of the harmonised database of goods and services (HBD) in TMclass (https://www.tmdn.org/#/tools/1819832 ). This free tool is of great help to intellectual property professionals, as it allows them to classify goods and services that trademarks seek to protect.

Managed by the EUIPO, there are several types of tools (Trade Marks, Designs, Enforcement, Enhancing the Network, Geographical Indications, Quality and Standards) available to the public, each with different specialised tools. In the much consulted Designs section, two powerful tools for designers of different specialisations can be found; DESIGNview (https://www.tmdn.org/#/tools/1819847 ) and DESINGclass (https://www.tmdn.org/#/tools/1819850 ). These offer users, within their Harmonised Database (https://euipo.europa.eu/ohimportal/en/harmonised-database ), the most appropriate standards and regulations for the products they wish to protect. These instruments were created under the convergence project on the harmonisation of product indications of the Convergence Programme (CP7).

On the other hand, in the Trademarks category, we find a platform called TMview (https://www.tmdn.org/#/tools/1820385 ), which consists of online access to topics such as: trademark applications and registrations, checking whether an idea is available or whether a particular trademark has changed status in 76 countries.

Importantly, TMclass offers the opportunity to search for and translate goods and services in any of the 44 available languages. In the same way, it verifies the correct classification of terms according to the Nice classification.

With the integration of the Central American country mentioned above, there will be 26 offices operating on the above basis outside the European Union. The addition of RPI-GT increases the number of IP offices, both national and state IP offices, to 91. Within this important group we can find ARIPO, OAPI, WIPO and EUIPO, among others.

The case of the RPI-GT, was one of the many scopes of the IP Key Latin America programme, directed by the European Commission and implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office itself.