What is a Trade Mark Class?

In the UK and many other countries, trade marks are registered in different “Classes”, which are determined by the type of goods and services that your business will be offering under the trade mark. There is an international system of classification called the “Nice Classification system” which sets out the types of goods or services that are contained within each Class. When you apply to register your trade mark, you will need to select the Classes to include in your application and also list the goods or services that you want to include within each Class. Your trade mark will only be registered for those goods and services, and you should have a genuine intention to use your trade mark for those goods and services.

For example, Class 25 covers “clothing, footwear and headgear” and Class 35 includes many different services under headings such as “advertising, marketing and promotion”, “retail and online retail” and “business advice and consultancy”.

As well as choosing the correct Classes, the items within each Class must be drafted using the correct approved terminology; otherwise, the Examiner will issue an “objection” when examining your application and ask you to amend the description to incorporate the acceptable terminology. An example is the difference between Class 9, which includes “downloadable electronic publications” and Class 41, which includes “the provision of non-downloadable electronic publications”. In general, details must be provided about the nature of the goods and services, rather than just including overly broad, general terms. The US Registry is particularly inflexible in this regard and requires that you include only specifically worded terms, with the threat of penalty fees for non-compliance.

There is a separate Registry fee for each Class that you include in your application. In the UK, this is £50 for every additional Class over and above the initial application fee of £170.

Getting the description of your goods and services right when you apply to register your trade mark is extremely important as it will affect how you can use and enforce your registered trade mark in the future. Your description should be wide enough to cover future anticipated growth and diversification of your brand, but not so wide as to attract unnecessary opposition from the owners of earlier similar trade marks.

Here at Panoramix IP, we can assist you in choosing the most appropriate Classes for your trade mark registration application and with drafting your list of goods and services in a way that offers you the best protection and complies with the relevant best practice and regulations. We will work with you to fully understand the nature of your business and its particular field of expertise to tailor your application to meet your exact business needs. Contact us today to get started.