Choosing a Trademark Class

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Choosing a trademark class is an important part of the trademark process.  The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has 45 categories that includes all of the goods and services that can be trademarked. Here is a list of the 45 trademark classes and a description that can be found on the USPTO's website.  Choosing the wrong classification can leave you unprotected or result in your application being denied.  

For assistance with filing your trademark or choosing the proper class, contact us.

Trademark Classes as defined by the USPTO:

1. Class 1: Chemicals used in industry, science and photography, as well as in agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations; chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesives used in industry.  Class 1 includes mainly chemical products used in industry, science and agriculture, including those which go to the making of products belonging to other classes.
2. Class 2: Paints, varnishes, lacquers; preservatives against rust and against deterioration of wood; colorants; mordants; raw natural resins; metals in foil and powder form for painters, decorators, printers and artists.  Class 2 includes mainly paints, colorants and preparations used for the protection against corrosion.
3. Class 3: Bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions; dentifrices. Class 3 includes mainly cleaning preparations and toilet preparations.
4. Class 4: Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; dust absorbing, wetting and binding compositions; fuels (including motor spirit) and illuminants; candles and wicks for lighting.   Class 4 includes mainly industrial oils and greases, fuels and illuminants.
5. Class 5: Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietetic food and substances adapted for medical or veterinary use, food for babies; dietary supplements for humans and animals; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides. Class 5 includes mainly pharmaceuticals and other preparations for medical or veterinary purposes.
6. Class 6: Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal; materials of metal for railway tracks; non-electric cables and wires of common metal; ironmongery, small items of metal hardware; pipes and tubes of metal; safes; goods of common metal not included in other classes; ores. Class 6 includes mainly unwrought and partly wrought common metals as well as simple products made of them.
7. Class 7: Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); machine coupling and transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements other than hand-operated; incubators for eggs; automatic vending machines. Class 7 includes mainly machines, machine tools, motors and engines.
8. Class 8: Hand tools and implements (hand-operated); cutlery; side arms; razors.  Class 8 includes mainly hand-operated implements used as tools in the respective professions.
9. Class 9: Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; compact discs, DVDs and other digital recording media; mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment, computers; computer software; fire-extinguishing apparatus.
10. Class 10: Surgical, medical, dental and veterinary apparatus and instruments, artificial limbs, eyes and teeth; orthopedic articles; suture materials. Class 10 includes mainly medical apparatus, instruments and articles.
11. Class 11: Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply and sanitary purposes.
12. Class 12: Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water.  
13. Class 13: Firearms; ammunition and projectiles; explosives; fireworks.  Class 13 includes mainly firearms and pyrotechnical products.
14. Class 14: Precious metals and their alloys and goods in precious metals or coated therewith, not included in other classes; jewellery, precious stones; horological and chronometric instruments.  Class 14 includes mainly precious metals, goods in precious metals not included in other classes and, in general jewellery, clocks and watches.
15. Class 15: Musical instruments.
16. Class 16: Paper, cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed matter; bookbinding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or household purposes; artists' materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites (except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic materials for packaging (not included in other classes); printers' type; printing blocks.  Class 16 includes mainly paper, goods made from that material and office requisites.
17. Class 17: Rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos, mica and goods made from these materials and not included in other classes; plastics in extruded form for use in manufacture; packing, stopping and insulating materials; flexible pipes, not of metal.  Class 17 includes mainly electrical, thermal and acoustic insulating materials and plastics, being for use in manufacture in the form of sheets, blocks and rods.
18. Class 18: Leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials and not included in other classes; animal skins, hides; trunks and travelling bags; umbrellas and parasols; walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery.  Class 18 includes mainly leather, leather imitations, travel goods not included in other classes and saddlery.
19. Class 19: Building materials (non-metallic); non-metallic rigid pipes for building; asphalt, pitch and bitumen; non-metallic transportable buildings; monuments, not of metal.  Class 19 includes mainly non-metallic building materials.
20. Class 20: Furniture, mirrors, picture frames; goods (not included in other classes) of wood, cork, reed, cane, wicker, horn, bone, ivory, whalebone, shell, amber, mother-of-pearl, meerschaum and substitutes for all these materials, or of plastics.  Class 20 includes mainly furniture and its parts and plastic goods, not included in other classes.
21. Class 21: Household or kitchen utensils and containers; combs and sponges; brushes (except paint brushes); brush-making materials; articles for cleaning purposes; steelwool; unworked or semi-worked glass (except glass used in building); glassware, porcelain and earthenware not included in other classes.  Class 21 includes mainly small, hand-operated utensils and apparatus for household and kitchen use as well as toilet utensils, glassware and articles in porcelain.
22. Class 22: Ropes, string, nets, tents, awnings, tarpaulins, sails, sacks and bags (not included in other classes); padding and stuffing materials (except of rubber or plastics); raw fibrous textile materials.  Class 22 includes mainly rope and sail manufacture products, padding and stuffing materials and raw fibrous textile materials.
23. Class 23: Yarns and threads, for textile use.
24. Class 24: Textiles and textile goods, not included in other classes; bed covers; table covers. Class 24 includes mainly textiles (piece goods) and textile covers for household use.
25. Class 25: Clothing, footwear, headgear.  
26. Class 26: Lace and embroidery, ribbons and braid; buttons, hooks and eyes, pins and needles; artificial flowers. Lace and embroidery, ribbons and braid; buttons, hooks and eyes, pins and needles; artificial flowers.
27. Class 27: Carpets, rugs, mats and matting, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors; wall hangings (non-textile). Carpets, rugs, mats and matting, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors; wall hangings (non-textile).
28. Class 28: Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees.  Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees.
29. Class 29: Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs; milk and milk products; edible oils and fats. Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs; milk and milk products; edible oils and fats.
30. Class 30: Coffee, tea, cocoa and artificial coffee; rice; tapioca and sago; flour and preparations made from cereals; bread, pastry and confectionery; ices; sugar, honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt; mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice.  Class 30 includes mainly foodstuffs of plant origin prepared for consumption or conservation as well as auxiliaries intended for the improvement of the flavour of food.
31. Class 31: Grains and agricultural, horticultural and forestry products not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds; natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals; malt. Class 31 includes mainly land products not having been subjected to any form of preparation for consumption, live animals and plants as well as foodstuffs for animals.
32. Class 32: Beers; mineral and aerated waters and other non-alcoholic beverages; fruit beverages and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages. Class 32 includes mainly non-alcoholic beverages, as well as beer.
33. Class 33: Alcoholic beverages (except beers).
34. Class 34: Tobacco; smokers' articles; matches.
35. Class 35: Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions. Class 35 includes mainly services rendered by persons or organizations principally with

    the object of:

    (1) help in the working or management of a commercial undertaking, or

    (2) help in the management of the business affairs or commercial functions of an industrial or commercial enterprise, as well as services rendered by advertising establishments primarily undertaking

    communications to the public, declarations or announcements by all means of diffusion and concerning all kinds of goods or services.

36. Class 36: Insurance; financial affairs; monetary affairs; real estate affairs. Class 36 includes mainly services rendered in financial and monetary affairs and services rendered in relation to insurance contracts of all kinds.
37. Class 37: Building construction; repair; installation services. Class 37 includes mainly services rendered by contractors or subcontractors in the construction or making of permanent buildings, as well as services rendered by persons or organizations engaged in the restoration of objects to their original condition or in their preservation without altering their physical or chemical properties.
38. Class 38: Telecommunications. Class 38 includes mainly services allowing at least one person to communicate with another by a sensory means. Such services include those which:

    (1) allow one person to talk to another,

    (2) transmit messages from one person to another, and

    (3) place a person in oral or visual communication with another (radio and television).

39. Class 39: Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement. Class 39 includes mainly services rendered in transporting people or goods from one place to another (by rail, road, water, air or pipeline) and services necessarily connected with such transport, as well as services relating to the storing of goods in a warehouse or other building for their preservation or guarding.
40. Class 40: Treatment of materials. Class 40 includes mainly services not included in other classes, rendered by the mechanical or chemical processing or transformation of objects or inorganic or organic substances. For the purposes of classification, the mark is considered a service mark only in cases where processing or transformation is effected for the account of another person. A mark is considered a trade mark in all cases where the substance or object is marketed by the person who processed or transformed it.
41. Class 41: Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities.  Class 41 covers mainly services rendered by persons or institutions in the development of the mental faculties of persons or animals, as well as services intended to entertain or to engage the attention.
42. Class 42: Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software.  Class 42 includes mainly services provided by persons, individually or collectively, in relation to the theoretical and practical aspects of complex fields of activities; such services are provided by members of professions such as chemists, physicists, engineers, computer programmers, etc.
43. Class 43: Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodation.  Class 43 includes mainly services provided by persons or establishments whose aim is to prepare food and drink for consumption and services provided to obtain bed and board in hotels, boarding houses or other establishments providing temporary accommodation.
44. Class 44: Medical services; veterinary services; hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals; agriculture, horticulture and forestry services.  Class 44 includes mainly medical care, hygienic and beauty care given by persons or establishments to human beings and animals; it also includes services relating to the fields of agriculture, horticulture and forestry.
45. Class 45: Legal services; security services for the protection of property and individuals; personal and social services rendered by others to meet the needs of individuals.