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If you are considering registering a trade mark for your business, it is essential to understand the registration process. Indeed, this includes which classes you wish to register within. In this article, we will discuss what trade mark classifications are and how they can help your business to maximise the protection of your registered trade mark.
LegalVision’s Trade Mark Essentials Guide provides valuable information for any business looking to register or enforce a trade mark.
What Are Classifications and What is the System?
In England, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) operates the trade mark registration process. Moreover, the IPO uses a trade mark classification system called ‘The Nice Classification’. This system intends to simplify the registration process by placing different groups and services into classes.
Before completing the trade mark application and registration process, you will need to provide details of the goods or services you wish to protect. This is often referred to as the specification, as you choose the most relevant classes to your business and the products or services you wish to provide.
There are 45 classes, 34 of which are goods and 11 of which are services. Each class has a general heading followed by details that outline the products or services under that particular class. The lists are non-exhaustive. Therefore, if you do not immediately see your product or service included in a class you believe you belong within, do not let this immediately deter you.
Why Are Trade Mark Classifications Important?
Classifications are the areas of the industry you are protecting your trade mark within. Therefore, once you register your trade mark under a particular class, you can take legal action against another business that attempts to use your trade mark without consent. Therefore, you must select all trade mark classes relevant to your business now and in the future. This will ensure your trade mark receives the maximum legal protection.
Your trade mark will be worthless if you select the wrong classes. In this case, your competitors can register a similar mark in the class you should have initially. This would hugely reduce the value of your trade mark to your business as you would be unable to use it in the correct class without infringing your competitor’s rights. Trade mark classifications are, therefore, vital to get correct the first time around. Typically, you cannot make amendments after submission of your application and will instead need to submit a new application.
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Examples of Classes
Below are some examples of trade mark classes. You will see the classes are numbered and have a description of products or services included within that class.
| Class | Description of Goods and Services |
| Class 8 | Hand tools, hand-operated implements, cutlery, side arms and razors. |
| Class 24 | Textiles and textile goods that are not included in other classes, such as bed and table covers. |
| Class 41 | Education, training, entertainment, sporting and cultural activities. |
| Class 44 | Medical services, veterinary services, hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals, agriculture, horticulture and forestry services. |
If you were to register a trade mark for a beauty salon business within Class 41, this would be entirely worthless as the trade mark would not require protection in the education, entertainment, sporting or cultural areas of trade. The appropriate class to register within would be Class 44, which explicitly mentions beauty care for human beings.
Key Takeaways
In the UK, trade mark classes will group trade areas to identify different business products and services easily. It is crucial to choose the correct classes for registration, as your trade mark will only be protected within the classes you register. You should select the classes you feel they are the most relevant to your business products or services now and in future. The Intellectual Property Office provides 45 classes you can select from, all of which contain headings and further details to identify which products or services should select each class. However, if you feel you need further assistance in selecting the correct class or classes, it is advisable to seek professional legal support.
If you need help deciding whether to register a trade mark, our experienced intellectual property lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can select multiple classes. However, you will have to pay an additional fee for each class you decide to add to your application. You should select multiple classes if you feel they are relevant to your business’ products or services.
There are a total of 45 classes, 34 related to products and 11 explicitly related to services. Therefore, if you are a product-based business, the first 34 classes will be most relevant to you. If you are a services-based business, it may be more appropriate to focus on the last 11 classes in the list.
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