Lead Office
USPTOThe TM5 ID List is designed to assist trademark rights holders who seek trademark protection in multiple jurisdictions by creating a common list of acceptable goods and services. This pre-approved list, which as of October 2019 contains over 20,000 acceptable identifications, simplifies the process of trademark application across multiple offices.
Generally, applicants seeking a trademark registration must provide a description (“ID” or “identification”) of the goods or services associated with the mark. An applicant may choose to personally craft the ID or select one from a pick list that the office maintains. The advantage to selecting a pre-written ID is that the applicant is assured that it will be accepted, since an inadequately worded ID can delay application processing and registration.
Therefore, an applicant may benefit substantially by drawing an ID from a pre-approved list. However, if an applicant wishes to obtain registrations in multiple jurisdictions, they may need to consult the lists of multiple offices, each using somewhat different wording to describe the same goods or services.
The TM5 ID List is an attempt to harmonize this process. It seeks to create a common, pre-approved list of IDs that are acceptable in at least each of the five TM5 Partner offices, with a goal to extend to other national IP offices as well. An applicant seeking to obtain a trademark registration in any participating office is assured that the office will accept any ID that is included in the “unified list.”
Rights holders may view the pre-approved list of common identifications by accessing it here. When consulting the USPTO’s Manual of Acceptable Goods and Services, the IDs in the Manual that are accompanied by a “T” notation constitute the “unified list”. When consulting EUIPO’s TMClass website, the pre-approved, common IDs are noted by a green dot in the “ID List” column. When consulting JPO’s J-PlatPat website, TM5 ID List terms are identified with a “T”.
The TM5 Partners continue to invite other offices to participate in this initiative and continue to add to the “unified list” of goods and services.
