For cables, HDMI Licensing has ruled that companies using its standard can no longer refer to Version 1.4 whatsoever, and have a year to remove all other version numbers from their products.
For products other than cables, version numbers are also to be phased out by the start of 2012, meaning that the likes of switchboxes can no longer be described as supporting v1.3, for example, or TVs be said to have v1.3 inputs.
Until January 1, 2012, the HDMI version number can still be used, but "only when the Adopter clearly specifies the feature or features associated with that HDMI version number."
So a product currently claimed to be 'HDMI V1.4 compliant' will now have to be described as featuring, for example, 'HDMI v.1.4 with Audio Return Channel and HDMI Ethernet Channel.'
As already mentioned, there is a one-year grace period for the implementation of most of these changes.