What Are Trademark Classes?

A trademark class refers to the category of the goods or services your business sells with your trademark. Depending on the type of goods or services you offer, you may require one trademark class or multiple classes. These broad classes serve to categorize your goods or services for the purpose of trademarking. 

A little history regarding trademarks…

The globally recognized Nice Classification (NCL) was established in 1957. This international classification of goods or services pertains to the registration of trademarks. It functions to standardize the classification of goods or services. Basically, per the NCL, trademarks apply to your brand name, logo, or tagline in conjunction with the specific goods or services that you offer. Trademarks allow you to protect the particular goods or services you sell, within a certain category. 

There are currently 45 trademark classes for goods or services available in the United States. Due to the ever-evolving innovation in the goods or services sphere, business owners must carefully determine what is the appropriate class for their trademark. 

Let’s examine the 45 trademark classes below. 

45 Trademark Classes

Goods

001 Chemicals
002 Paints
003 Cosmetics and cleaning preparations
004 Lubricants and fuels
005 Pharmaceuticals
006 Metal goods
007 Machinery
008 Hand tools
009 Electrical and scientific apparatus
010 Medical apparatus
011 Environmental control apparatus
012 Vehicles
013 Firearms
014 Jewelry
015 Musical instruments
016 Paper goods and printed matter
017 Rubber goods
018 Leather goods
019 Non-metallic building materials
020 Furniture and articles not otherwise classified
021 Housewares and glass
022 Cordage and fibers
023 Yarns and threads
024 Fabrics
025 Clothing
026 Fancy goods
027 Floor coverings
028 Toys and sporting goods
029 Meats and processed foods
030 Staple foods
031 Natural agricultural products
032 Light beverages
033 Wines and spirits
034 Smokers’ articles

Services

035 Advertising and business
036 Insurance and financial
037 Building construction and repair
038 Telecommunication
039 Transportation and storage
040 Treatment of materials
041 Education and entertainment
042 Computer and scientific
043 Hotels and restaurants
044 Medical, beauty and agricultural
045 Personal and legal

Determining the Appropriate Trademark Class

According to the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), the most effective way to ensure you’ve selected the appropriate class for your goods or services is to search the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). The TESS database contains millions of trademark records. How does it serve you to search TESS? When applying for a trademark, you will want to give yourself the best chance of success. The USPTO can reject your application if there is a “likelihood of confusion.” If your brand name, logo, or tagline is too similar to existing trademarks in use in a given class of goods or services, that may lead to confusion among consumers. The USPTO evaluates your application on these grounds and assesses whether or not consumers may reasonably identify the source of the goods or services in question. 

One of the great advantages of trademark classes is that they allow for identical or very similar trademarks to exist in different categories or industries, without causing consumer confusion. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, such as with major brands known around the world, like Coca Cola, Nike, and so on. 

The accuracy and relevance of a trademark class or classes may depend on how you describe your goods or services and/or your business goals. 

Submitting a Successful Trademark Application

Knowing the classification of your goods or services is very beneficial to your application. Your goods or services may be trademarked in one class or more than one class. Identifying the class or classes for your goods or services is required. In the USPTO ID Manual, you may search for descriptions of goods or services and their related class number. Goods or services that are similar may be identified in more than one class. Indeed, in some cases, goods and services from multiple classes fall into the USPTO distinction of “coordinated classes.” This applies to companies that offer one type of good or service that is usually offered alongside other related goods or services. The USPTO has established a list of the coordinated classes for reference, available here.

If you are interested in trademarking a design, you should identify the design search code for each aspect of the design. If applicable, also identify the design search code for any part of your trademark that contains words which images could represent. In TESS, you can search these codes and figure out if there will be a likelihood of confusion related to the trademark of your design in a given class. 

Cost of Trademark Registration

In our recent post titled Register A Trademark we dove into the details of trademark registration. That article included the information that the USPTO provides two options for trademark applications. You may select TEAS (Trademark Electronic Application System) Plus, which is $250 per class, or, TEAS Standard, which is $350 per class. The cost of the application will depend on how many classes you are trademarking in for your goods or services. 

TEAS Plus is appropriate for companies that offer goods or services that are applicable to USPTO pre-approved classes. TEAS Standard, on the other hand, is suitable for companies offering goods and services in custom class categories (not pre-approved). When in the process of researching and applying for a trademark, consider if a pre-approved or custom category makes the most sense for your goods or services. 

The rights your trademark provides you with are limited to the “scope of use” of the class or classes you select for your goods or services. When registering a trademark, only choose the class or classes for goods or services that you use or intend to use. If you don’t, your application may be rejected. 

Trademark Classification Can Be Complex

Our team at Stockman & Poropat, PLLC provides our clients with a streamlined process of trademark registration. During a free consultation, we will learn about your business and what type of intellectual property protection you are seeking. Our team will then search the trademark database top to bottom on your behalf. We will also share the result of our search with you and develop a strategy if there are any concerns. Subsequently, we file the trademark application for you and handle all communications with the USPTO. If you are prepared to go forth with a trademark, go to our File My Trademark page. We look forward to working with you! 

Up next we will be discussing Trademark Symbol.