The Vienna Agreement for Establishing an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks, referred to as the Vienna Agreement, is an agreement to establish an international classification of the figurative elements of marks. It was adopted at the Vienna Diplomatic Conference on June 12, 1973 and entered into force on August 9, 1985.
The Vienna Agreement establishes a classification system for marks consisting of or with figurative elements (the Vienna Classification). The Agreement divides the figurative elements of marks into 29 major classes, 144 minor classes and approximately 1,887 categories. It requires the competent offices of the Contracting Parties to indicate in their official documents or publications concerning the registration and renewal of trademarks the class, group and item numbers of the classification to which the figurative elements of the mark are classified.
The Vienna Agreement also established a Committee of Experts, represented by all members of the Union. The main task of the Committee is to regularly revise the classification. The Vienna Agreement is open to member states of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Instruments of ratification or accession must be deposited with the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization.