As a trade mark registration grants an exclusive right to use the mark (in other words a monopoly), the ambit of such monopoly must be restricted to a specific class of goods or services in most jurisdictions. In an attempt to ensure 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 June 15, 1957.
Use of the Nice Classification is mandatory not only for the national registration of marks in countries party to the Nice Agreement, but also for the international registration of marks affected by the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organisation ("WIPO"), under the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and for
