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Locarno Classification for Designs

Locarno Agreement

The Locarno Classification allows you to organise registered designs and to make them easier to research. This search has the additional advantage of being language independent. To that end, the Locarno Classification comprises a total of 32 classes and 241 subclasses with detailed descriptions of goods. If you want to protect, for example, the form of a new automobile prototype, you will find "automotive bodies" under class 12 "Means of transport or hoisting" in subclass 12-08 "Motor cars, buses and lorries". By means of the classification symbol 12-08, you can search for similar car designs in various design databases.

The design application must contain a product indication. This means that design applicants must indicate specific goods for which they intend to use the design. The terms contained in the list of goods in the Locarno Classification must be used for a design application. The primary purpose of the classification is search; unlike, for example, in the case of trade marks, it does not specify the scope of protection of the design.

Current version of the Locarno Classification (14th edition)

The Locarno Classification and the Official List of Goods Design are revised at regular intervals to keep them up to date. The 14th edition of the Locarno Classification has been in force since 01.01.2023 and remains valid. The official list of goods Design 2024 (14) came into force on 01.01.2024. These replace all previous editions of the classification and lists of goods.

Search facilities, more detailed information

The DPMA offers a search engine facility to help you find appropriate product names:

The Einteilung der Klassen und Unterklassen published annually in the externer Link Bundesanzeiger (Federal Gazette) (Search term: Locarno-Klassifikation) and the list of goods are in line with the content of the twelfth edition of the International Classification under the Locarno Agreement (Locarno Classification). New national names of goods are also included in this list of goods.
The authentic versions of the Locarno Classification are prepared in English and French and published by the externer Link WIPO.

Picture: iStock.com/vasabii

Last updated: 20 December 2023