Identifying your trade marks goods and services

Prior to filing to register your selected trade mark, you must identify the class of goods and or/services you wish for your mark to be protected under.

These goods and services are divided into 45 classes which provide a general indication for what each class covers. For example, class 25 covers clothing, footwear and head gear.

It is a common misconception that you are required to select the class of goods and/or services from pre-approved list however, you can manually create or add on as many terms as you require as long as it falls within the correct class. For example, under class 25 you can include terms such as t-shirts, dresses, etc.

Generally, classes 1-34 are used for goods/products (e.g. mugs) whereas classes 35-46 are used to identify the nature of a brands service (e.g. healthcare services).

Do be aware however that it would not be possible to register your trade mark under every single class of goods and services as doing so will create a monopoly over the mark which in its course, has the potential to prevent other businesses from expanding.

Therefore, it is our recommendation that when selecting your class of goods and services, it is of upmost importance to decide the exact category they fall under as you cannot amend or extend these classes once you have submitted the application. On the contrary, failing to select classes that your brand will not be using may risk the mark in being invalidated so it is always best to be extra cautious when considering this.  

The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), similar to most countries, charges an additional cost for each class added. As such, getting the classes your brand plans to expand on added from the ‘get go’ will save on new filing costs in the future.

If you are unsure as to which class heading your brand will fall under, ask the experts at the Trademarkroom or alternatively, check out the WIPO classification tool here.

If you have any questions relating to goods and services or the trade mark application process, contact the Trademarkroom today where we would be happy to assist you!