Trademark Nice classes

The Intellectual Property Offices worldwide use a trademark classification system that groups together similar goods or services into 45 different classes. This is often referred to as the Nice classification.

Each class contains a list of pre-approved terms. These cover all the goods or services included in that class. Goods covered are listed in classes 1 to 34 while services covered are listed in classes 35 to 45.

We use the nice classification when choosing which trademark classes to file our mark under. Below we establish the importance of using the nice classification.

• Trademark classes provide an easy way to quickly classify trademarked goods and services.
• They are a guide to searching for trademarks that are similar to yours because, in most cases, you'll only need to search within your trademark's class.
• Registering your trademark under a particular class prevents someone from registering the same or similar trademark within the same class. This means that someone who is selling the same products or services cannot register a similar trademark in the same class.
• The classes are considered when you conduct a clear assessment of the products and/or services that you are interested in providing as well as those which you intend to provide in the future.
• Classes allow for trademarks to co-exist. For example, there exist two types of Dove products. One is the chocolate that is owned by Mars while the Dove soap is owned by Unilever. This shows that two totally different companies with two different products can share the same name.

When it comes to choosing which trademark classes to file your application, you will realise that you are allowed to register your mark under more than one class. How then should you go about selecting the trademark classes? First, you need to assess your business and the direction you intend to go in the future. You may apply under a class that you intend to get into within 5 years. This selection period requires expert advice that you can get from a trademark attorney.

It is more costly to file under more than one class and it is impractical to file your mark under every class. Our lawyers at OWN-R advise that you file your mark under the classes that you currently operate under as well as the classes that you intend to branch out into.

Thus it is advisable to register a trademark only for those goods and/or services on which you (or someone with your permission) are intending to use it in the near future