China, Japan and South Korea Co-issues Concordance List of Similar Group Codes for Trademark Apps
Published 9 June 2025
Fei Dang
On April 7, 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) co-issued the Concordance List of Similar Group Codes (the List).
According to the JPO, the List corresponds to Nice Classification, 12th edition, Version 2025 (NCL(12-2025)) which came into effect on January 1, 2025, and those goods and services in the List indicate the corresponding relationships among the respective, similar group codes used for trademark examination at the JPO, the CNIPA and the KIPO in accordance with a trilateral agreement signed by the three offices. It is said that the similar group codes are the codes assigned to goods and services that are presumed to be similar to each other in trademark examination, so users who file trademark applications with the JPO, the CNIPA or the KIPO can utilize the List when searching for the existence of already registered trademarks and improve the predictability of examination results.
The cooperation on intellectual property among the CNIPA, the JPO, and the KIPO was initiated in 2001 which aimed at promoting the exchange and use of patent examination information, coordinating the patent examination practice, and establishing international regulation. According to a co-statement issued by China, Japan, and South Korea regarding their intellectual property cooperation in 2024, the three administrations have deepened their cooperation in the fields of intellectual property automation, patents, designs, human resource development, re-examinations, and trademarks, and the List herein is one of the examples that reflects three countries’ cooperation in the trademark fields. It is worth noting that the List has been co-issued annually for four consecutive years since 2022.
It is also stated in the co-statement by China, Japan, and South Korea that the three countries will continue to cooperate in the intellectual property field, including but not limited to establishing an intellectual property right system that can accommodate and embrace rapid technological change (e.g. artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) etc.); making the public to obtain patent information more easily and encouraging the private sector to utilize patent information; and expanding their intellectual property cooperation to other countries and regions, promoting the intellectual property cooperation of “China-Japan-Korea + X”.
According to the JPO, the List corresponds to Nice Classification, 12th edition, Version 2025 (NCL(12-2025)) which came into effect on January 1, 2025, and those goods and services in the List indicate the corresponding relationships among the respective, similar group codes used for trademark examination at the JPO, the CNIPA and the KIPO in accordance with a trilateral agreement signed by the three offices. It is said that the similar group codes are the codes assigned to goods and services that are presumed to be similar to each other in trademark examination, so users who file trademark applications with the JPO, the CNIPA or the KIPO can utilize the List when searching for the existence of already registered trademarks and improve the predictability of examination results.
The cooperation on intellectual property among the CNIPA, the JPO, and the KIPO was initiated in 2001 which aimed at promoting the exchange and use of patent examination information, coordinating the patent examination practice, and establishing international regulation. According to a co-statement issued by China, Japan, and South Korea regarding their intellectual property cooperation in 2024, the three administrations have deepened their cooperation in the fields of intellectual property automation, patents, designs, human resource development, re-examinations, and trademarks, and the List herein is one of the examples that reflects three countries’ cooperation in the trademark fields. It is worth noting that the List has been co-issued annually for four consecutive years since 2022.
It is also stated in the co-statement by China, Japan, and South Korea that the three countries will continue to cooperate in the intellectual property field, including but not limited to establishing an intellectual property right system that can accommodate and embrace rapid technological change (e.g. artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) etc.); making the public to obtain patent information more easily and encouraging the private sector to utilize patent information; and expanding their intellectual property cooperation to other countries and regions, promoting the intellectual property cooperation of “China-Japan-Korea + X”.