Decision 486, which entered into force on December 1, 2000, established the concept of partial cancellation of a mark. Partial cancellation may be requested when use is not extended to all of the products in the international class in question. For example, a mark registered for all of the products in international class 29 covers more than 200 different products according to the 8th Nice Classification. When lack of use of a mark only affects one or several protected products, a reduction or limitation en the list of products included in the registration of the mark will be ordered, thereby eliminating those for which the mark has not been used. This partial cancellation action will only be able to take place once Decision 486 has been in effect for three years, that is, from December 2003. The titleholder of a mark that has been registered for various products within a class has the obligation to use the mark for all of those products. And, in the event that he does not do so, the products for which the mark has not been used may be cancelled from the listed of protected items.

Source: La Española v. Aceite de Oliva la Española, Resolution of the Intellectual Property Committee, February 12, 2003.

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