Like many global intellectual property offices, Intellectual Property Australia has seen a surge in trademark applications involving virtual goods, the Metaverse, NFTs, blockchain and other virtual currencies. In response to this situation, IP Australia recently issued guidance on the classification of trade marks for goods and services related to emerging technologies, aiming to clarify the practice of classifying these emerging technologies in trademark registration applications.
For example, claims to virtual goods or non-fungible tokens (NFTs) solely in Class 9 will not be accepted without further description of the goods classification. Applicants must detail the exact nature of the virtual good or NFT. Acceptable claims in Category 9 include downloadable virtual clothing and downloadable digital music files, which are subject to NFT certification.
The guide also discusses the classification of services provided in virtual environments such as virtual spaces. IP Australia is considering an approach to virtual services that impact the real world. For example, virtual food is consumed by virtual characters, but the virtual restaurant that actually appears in the online environment does not provide physical food. Therefore, this service will be classified as Category 41 entertainment services rather than Category 43 catering services.
The practice of commodity classification of virtual currencies is continuing to develop, and intellectual property offices in various countries are increasingly stepping up more practices in this area to meet the needs of customers in this rapidly developing field. Readers who need the IP Australia product classification guide can go to www.yezhimaip.com to download the full text of the guide.
