What is Trademark Class?

A trademark class is one of the 45 categories of the Nice Classification, and a trademark is only protected in the classes it is registered in.

Classes 1 to 34 cover goods and 35 to 45 cover services. A software company typically files in class 9 for the product and class 42 for the development service. A restaurant files in class 43.

Filing in the wrong class produces a registration that protects nothing useful, and the fee is per class per application.

Why it matters

Registering your brand in one class does not stop somebody using the same name in another. Getting the classes right at the start is cheaper than adding them later.

The statutory position

Each figure with the provision it comes from, so it can be checked.
What	Position	Source
Classification system	45 classes under the Nice Classification — 34 for goods, 11 for services	Fourth Schedule, Trade Marks Rules 2017
Government fee, individual or startup or small enterprise	₹4,500 per class, filed online	First Schedule, Trade Marks Rules 2017
Government fee, others	₹9,000 per class, filed online	First Schedule, Trade Marks Rules 2017
Registration validity	10 years, renewable indefinitely	Section 25, Trade Marks Act 1999

Not to be confused with

These get used interchangeably, including by tools that should know better. They are different things.

Company name approval

MCA name approval stops another company registering the same name. It confers no trade mark rights, and a company can hold a name it is not entitled to use as a brand.

Domain name

A domain registration is a contract with a registrar. It gives no statutory rights over the brand, and a registered mark can be enforced against a domain holder.

Questions people ask

Do I need to file in every class?

Only the classes covering what you actually sell, plus any you genuinely intend to enter. Each class is a separate fee and a separate examination, and a mark registered in classes you do not use is vulnerable to cancellation for non-use after five years.

What does the ™ symbol mean?

It signals a claim to a mark and can be used from the moment an application is filed. ® may only be used once the mark is actually registered, and using it before then is an offence under section 107.

What usually goes wrong

Filing in the wrong class, which protects a category the business does not operate in
Assuming company incorporation protects the brand
Using ® before registration is granted
Filing in every class defensively, then losing them to non-use cancellation