Ever since technology development has allowed for characteristics beyond images, letters and numbers to differentiate goods and services in communicative efforts, the legal requirements of graphical representation for obtaining registered trademark protection has been criticized as hindering legitimate IP protection.
From the recently released working document regarding the TPP (The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) by WikiLeaks, it became clear that the requirement for graphical representation is brought up on the agenda. At present, consensus on how to manage the criteria appears not to have been reached by the parties.
