Understanding Nice Classification for Trade Marks

· Editorial Team
Nice Classification Guide Registration

The Nice Classification is an international system that categorises all goods and services into 45 classes — 34 for goods and 11 for services. It is used by trade mark offices worldwide, including the UK IPO, to organise trade mark registrations.

Why Classification Matters

When you register a trade mark, you must specify which classes of goods or services you want protection for. Your registration only protects the mark in relation to the classes you have registered. This means two different businesses can legitimately hold the same trade mark name if they operate in completely different classes.

For example, "EAGLE" could be registered by a software company in Class 9 (Computers & Electronics) and by a clothing brand in Class 25 (Clothing & Footwear) without conflict.

The 45 Classes at a Glance

Goods (Classes 1–34)

These cover physical products, from chemicals (Class 1) through to tobacco products (Class 34). Some of the most popular goods classes for trade mark registrations include:

  • Class 9 — Computers, software, electronics, and scientific apparatus
  • Class 25 — Clothing, footwear, and headgear
  • Class 5 — Pharmaceutical and veterinary products
  • Class 30 — Coffee, tea, confectionery, and bakery products

Services (Classes 35–45)

These cover activities performed for others, from advertising (Class 35) through to legal and security services (Class 45). Popular service classes include:

  • Class 35 — Advertising, business management, and retail services
  • Class 42 — Scientific and technological services, including SaaS
  • Class 41 — Education, entertainment, and cultural activities
  • Class 43 — Food and drink services, hotels, and restaurants

Searching by Class

When searching for expired trade marks, filtering by Nice class helps you find marks that are directly relevant to your industry. An expired mark in your target class may represent a naming opportunity — though you should always verify that the name is not still in use before applying.

You can search expired trade marks by class using our free search tool, or browse all 45 classes from our class directory.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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