Article 7

Print this page

1. [Division of Application]
(a) Any application listing several goods and/or services (hereinafter referred to as “initial application”) may,

(i) at least until the decision by the Office on the registration of the mark,
(ii) during any opposition proceedings against the decision of the Office to register the mark,
(iii) during any appeal proceedings against the decision on the registration of the mark,
 be divided by the applicant or at its request into two or more applications (hereinafter referred to as “divisional applications”) by distributing among the latter the goods and/or services listed in the initial application. The divisional applications shall preserve the filing date of the initial application and the benefit of the right of priority, if any.
(b) Any Contracting Party shall, subject to subparagraph (a), be free to establish requirements for the division of an application, including the payment of fees.
 

2. [Division of Registration] Paragraph (1) shall apply,mutatis mutandis, with respect to a division of a registration. Such a division shall be permitted
(i) during any proceedings in which the validity of the registration is challenged before the Office by a third party,
(ii) during any appeal proceedings against a decision taken by the Office during the former proceedings, provided that a Contracting Party may exclude the possibility of the division of registrations if its law allows third parties to oppose the registration of a mark before the mark is registered.