Bermuda caught up with the rest of the world in trade marks and service marks regulations last week, according to trade marks officer Richard Dymond.

Mr. Dymond said there was an internationally recognised system of classifying trade goods and services at the World Intellectual Property Organisation based in Switzerland.

"Anyone can make representations for suggestions as to where goods and services might be placed within that classification or where they might be moved to within that class system," he said.

There are eight service classes and in the last one the 42nd class was previously an 'other' class, where every service that didn't fit into some other classification was placed.

"That made it very wide-ranging, with everything from legal services to massage services," explained Mr. Dymond. "So, in January of 2002 nearly all of the rest of the world moved to a slightly amended range of services."

That meant class 42 was subdivided into several smaller, slightly more specific categories. And on February 11 of this year Bermuda followed suit, dividing class 42 into classes 42, 43, 44, and 45. "Now we're in line with the rest of the world," said Mr. Dymond.