What are trademark classes?

Every trademark is put into a category based on the specific type of good or service it covers, and those categories are called trademark classes. If you apply for a trademark and your company sells coffee, the trademark office will designate that you are in class 30, the class that covers “coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, sago, artificial coffee.” (Among other things in that class!) The reason this is important is if someone else has a trademark for the same name in a different class, you can potentially apply for a different class and still own the trademark for a different good or service.

Trademarking Similar Names

For instance, below you can see that Delta Airlines and Delta Faucets are both Delta brands, but the trademark office decided that the goods and services they offer are different enough that having the same name won’t be confusing to consumers.

Protect Your Brand by Applying for Multiple Trademark Classes

To ensure that another company doesn’t trademark your name in a different class, you can apply to trademark it in multiple classes. Filing in both classes requires an additional fee, but also covers you in case you decide to start working in that space or someone else reserves it out from under you.

There are a total of 45 trademark classes to choose from, and we can help guide you through the process! Contact our office to find out the best course of action for your business.