The purpose of trade mark registration is to offer an exclusive
right to use a mark, a sort of monopoly, which must be restrained
to a specific class of goods or services in most jurisdictions. To
guarantee international uniformity in classifying such goods or
services, the International Classification of Goods and Services
for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks ("Nice
Classification") was established by an Agreement concluded at
the Nice Diplomatic Conference, on 15 June 1957.
As of February 2018, Malawi has a new trade mark law, the Trade
Marks Act, 2018 (the "Act"), after it received
Presidential assent on 24 January 2018. This Act repeals the Trade
Marks Act of 1957. The Act now fully adopts the Nice Classification
of Goods and Services thus making it possible to register service
marks in Malawi. Previously, there was no provision for service
marks in Malawi under the Trade Marks Act of 1957 leaving numerous
companies in service orientated industries with a
