How do you choose trademark classes for a new brand?
A trademark class is one of the 45 classes of the Nice Classification. Every item in your application has to sit in one of them. Choosing classes is a scope decision, not a numbering exercise. In principle, a registration protects the goods and services you list. That is why we suggest starting from a list of what you will actually sell, not from class numbers.
- Write down today and the near future: list what you sell now and what you plan to add soon.
- Classify each item on its own: under WIPO's general remarks, headings only show the general field. The alphabetical list settles the exact class of an item. A finished product in principle follows its function or purpose.
- Separate goods from services: the product and the service of selling or providing it often sit in different classes.
- Use the office's own wording: free-form text instead of USPTO ID Manual wording adds 200 USD per class. Without its picklist, IP Australia charges 400 AUD instead of 250 AUD per class.
Once the list is ready, compare it with the finder and then work on the name itself. A distinctive name matters as much as the right class, and our brand identity work covers that side. The finder's suggestions are indicators; confirm the final scope with a trademark attorney or lawyer before you file.
Goods class or services class: how do you tell them apart?
Classes 1 to 34 cover goods and classes 35 to 45 cover services. One business often touches both. For example, a publisher sells printed books in class 16 and downloadable e-books in class 9. Its book publishing service sits in class 41. What you actually do decides which classes you need.
WIPO's general remarks also add a few rules for services.
- Rental: follows the service provided by the rented object; renting out telephones is class 38.
- Advice and consultancy: follows the subject; business management consultancy is class 35, financial consultancy class 36, beauty consultancy class 44.
- Delivery channel: offering a service by phone or online does not in principle change its class.
- Franchising: each franchisor service goes to the class of that service.
These rules show why shortcuts such as "it is online, so it must be class 42" mislead. The same logic applies to own-label products. You need the class of the goods that carry your mark, as our private label guide explains. If an item is unclear, type it into the Search terms tab. The class of the matching term is a stronger hint than any heading.
Why does class 35 matter so much?
Class 35 covers advertising, business management and office functions, but for most brands its real value is retail. WIPO's explanatory note says that, for classification purposes, the sale of goods is not a service. Instead, the note covers bringing together a variety of goods for the benefit of others. Customers can then conveniently view and buy them. Retail stores, wholesale outlets, catalogues and websites are all channels for that service.
Two points follow. First, class 35 does not protect the product itself: a mark printed on T-shirts also needs class 25. Second, the USPTO's list of coordinated classes links class 35 to almost every goods class. So search class 35 as well when you look for similar marks. Still, a class number on its own is not evidence that goods or services are similar.
If you file in Turkey, the retail service sits in sub-group 35.05 of TÜRKPATENT's Communiqué 2026/2. There you name the goods you bring together in the starred blank (Article 3/5). Online marketplaces for buyers and sellers and influencer marketing also appear in class 35 of the alphabetical list.
How many classes should you file, and what does each one cost?
The right number is the number of classes your business really covers now and in the near future. A single-product clothing brand often starts with classes 25 and 35. A café chain, by contrast, starts with class 43 and adds class 30 if it sells its own packaged products. Every extra class raises the fee and widens the field of earlier marks that could oppose you.
Fee logic differs by office, so check the schedule before you multiply.
- USPTO: 350 USD per class, so three classes cost 1,050 USD before any surcharges.
- UKIPO: 205 GBP online for the first class and 60 GBP for each additional class.
- EUIPO: 850 EUR for the first class, 50 EUR for the second and 150 EUR for each further class. The second class is therefore relatively cheap.
- IP India: fees apply per class and per mark. Online filing costs 4,500 INR for individuals, startups and small enterprises and 9,000 INR otherwise.
We read these amounts on each office's own page on October 1, 2026; the table above has the details. Classes you never use are not free either. Unused items can become a weak point in later cancellation or opposition proceedings. Applicants domiciled outside the US also need a US attorney before the USPTO (37 CFR 2.11(a)). Show your class list together with your business plan to a trademark attorney before filing.
Which trademark classes protect a brand online?
Four classes come up again and again for digital businesses. Which ones you need depends on what exactly you do online.
- Downloadable goods, class 9: downloadable software and mobile apps, downloadable electronic publications.
- Selling and promotion, class 35: online retail, online marketplaces for buyers and sellers, advertising for others and influencer marketing.
- Software services, class 42: SaaS, software development, website hosting and website design consultancy.
- Content and learning, class 41: education, entertainment, video and film production, non-downloadable online publications.
In addition, class 45 includes online social networking services and the registration of domain names as a legal service. However, delivering a service online does not move it into class 42. Online financial consultancy, for example, stays in class 36.
A registration also helps on platforms. For example, Meta's trademark report form expects each report to rest on a registered trademark. That matters when another account holds the Instagram username that matches your brand. Our Instagram username claim page explains that route. Think about the domain name at the same time. Our domain name guide and the WHOIS lookup help with that step.
What changed in the latest edition of the Nice Classification?
The name has two parts: NCL 13-2026 means the 13th edition, version 2026. It entered into force on January 1, 2026, and our finder uses WIPO's master files for it. WIPO has already published the files of the next version, NCL 13-2027. We plan to refresh our data before that version applies.
For brands, one notable change in the 13th edition concerns eyewear. Spectacles, contact lenses and sunglasses moved from class 9 to class 10. The explanatory note of class 9 now excludes them, while the heading of class 10 names them. Guides written before 2026 may therefore still put sunglasses in class 9.
National lists follow the same edition. In Turkey, Communiqué 2026/2 (Official Gazette of February 26, 2026, issue 33180) replaced Communiqué 2024/2. TÜRKPATENT bases its same kind test on the 336 sub-groups of that list. Under its examination guidelines, same kind generally means the same sub-group of the same class.
In practice, check where each item sits in the current edition before you copy an old application. Then ask your attorney how to read an older registration.
How does the class finder work with the trademark search?
Your class choice is also the frame for a similarity search. Every class in Your classes moves to our trademark search with the Search a trademark in these classes button. There, office links and a TMview search open with the same classes. If you then upload a results file exported from an office, the tool also shows class proximity for each record.
That proximity is the G factor in the formula above, from 1.0 for the same term down to 0.1 for unrelated classes. Keep two caveats in mind.
- A class number is not evidence of similarity. Being in the same class does not by itself make goods similar. Goods in different classes can still be close.
- Well-known marks and marks with a reputation can reach beyond their own goods and services. Borrowing a famous name in another class is therefore not a safe shortcut.
Finally, take your class list, the search results and the tool's report to a trademark attorney or lawyer. These tools produce indicators, not legal advice. To build the name's strength over time, our brand authority guide covers the long game.
Common trademark class mistakes
- ✕MistakeCopying class headings into the application✓Do this insteadHeadings only show the general field. Pick items from the alphabetical list or the office's own ID list; the Search terms tab helps with that.
- ✕MistakeFiling an online store only in class 35✓Do this insteadClass 35 protects the retail service, not the product. Add the classes of the goods that carry your mark.
- ✕MistakeFiling eyewear in class 9 out of habit✓Do this insteadSince NCL 13-2026, spectacles, contact lenses and sunglasses sit in class 10. Compare old lists with the current edition.
- ✕MistakeAdding classes just in case✓Do this insteadEach extra class adds fees and widens the opposition surface. Start with the goods and services you will really use.
- ✕MistakeIgnoring a similar mark because it sits in another class✓Do this insteadA class number is not evidence of similarity either way. Search the related classes too, and remember that famous marks can reach further.
- ✕MistakeChoosing only class 9 for an app✓Do this insteadA downloadable app is class 9. The online service and development are class 42, and the app's real service needs its own class.
