Choosing the Class and Type of Trademark — How Not to Narrow Your Brand Protection
Choosing the class and type of a trademark is a critical stage in the registration process. These two decisions define the scope of application and protection of your mark and help you avoid conflicts with signs that already exist. A mistake here is not always visible immediately — it surfaces a year or two later, when it turns out a competitor is lawfully operating under a similar name in a class you never claimed.
Choosing the Nice class
The International Classification of Goods and Services (the Nice Classification) divides all goods and services into 45 classes: 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services. Choosing the correct class or classes determines exactly which areas your trademark protection covers.
Detailed assessment. Before filing an application, it is important to analyse in detail which classes your goods or services fall into. An incorrect class selection may lead to a refusal of registration, or limit the protection of your mark so severely that it effectively does not work.
The most common mistake is to claim only the class the business operates in today. If a coffee shop registers its mark solely in class 43 (food services), then launching its own line of packaged beans (class 30) will be left unprotected, and anyone will be able to register the same name for coffee.
The opposite extreme is equally harmful: claiming every class "just in case" is expensive, and a mark not used in the claimed classes for five years can be revoked early for non-use. The optimal list is your current activity plus realistic plans for the coming years.
Types of trademarks
Word trademark
Word trademarks consist exclusively of words, letters, numbers, or any combination of these elements. They may include company names, product or service names, slogans, and advertising messages. This is the most common type of trademark, because verbal names are easy to remember and are used in spoken communication.
Advantages:
- ease of use and recognisability;
- simplicity of registration and enforcement;
- the ability to communicate the brand and its values effectively.
The main practical advantage of a word mark is that protection is not tied to a specific typographic treatment. You can change the font, the colour, and the logo — the rights to the name remain in force.
Figurative trademark
Figurative trademarks comprise graphic images, logos, and symbols that contain no text. They may be abstract or realistic and are intended to create a visual image associated with the brand.
Advantages:
- high visual recognisability;
- the ability to create a strong emotional connection with the consumer;
- effective use in visual media.
Combined trademark
Combined trademarks unite verbal and figurative elements, offering a comprehensive approach to brand identification. They may include the company or product name together with a logo or another graphic symbol.
Advantages:
- flexibility in presenting the brand through a combination of word and image;
- increased uniqueness and distinctiveness in the market;
- the ability to convey more information about the brand, its values, and its characteristics.
One important nuance: a combined mark protects precisely the combination you filed. If you rebrand the logo two years later while keeping the name, the old registration will protect an image that is no longer in use. For brands that are actively developing, it is therefore often optimal to register the word mark separately from the logo — this gives you two independent sets of rights.
What else to consider before filing
Beyond class and type, the nature of the sign itself affects the chances of registration. Descriptive names that directly state the product or one of its properties, along with generic terms, are refused as lacking distinctive character. The more invented and unusual the name, the stronger the protection it receives. And separately: before filing it is worth checking the sign against the registers — the most frequent ground for refusal is not descriptiveness but similarity to someone else's mark in your class or a related one.
Each type of trademark has its own advantages and can be used effectively in different branding strategies. The choice of a particular type depends on the brand's goals, its target audience, and how the company wants to be represented in the market.
If you are not sure which classes to claim or in what form to file your sign, book a consultation. We will analyse your brand, select the list of Nice classes, and propose a trademark registration strategy that delivers the widest possible protection.
