When you apply for a trademark, you must specify the goods and/or services you wish to protect. These goods and services are split across 45 classes (categories) used internationally and known as the Nice Classification system.
The system is based on the 1957 ‘Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks’. The Nice Classification is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
Within the 45 classes, goods are assigned to Classes 1 – 34, and services to Classes 35 – 45. Each class is represented by a class heading, which gives general information about the type of goods or services covered. For example, the Class 25 heading is ‘Clothing, footwear and headgear’. At the end of this blog, we’ve included a handy downloadable list of the 45 classes with our own descriptions of the key goods and services they cover.
Nice is regularly updated and revised. The current edition is the eleventh (hence Nice 11) and the 2019 version came into force in January 2019. The system is applied in 150 countries, which makes applying for trademarks internationally a more streamlined process.
Canada is the most recent country to adopt the Nice Classification. This means that Canadian trademark attorneys and their staff are facing a whole new way of doing things when it comes to applying for trademarks, as well as reclassifying existing trademark registrations. Many will be looking to increase the efficiency of their filing processes, and that’s where we can help.
Sortify.tm has a range of tools aimed at helping you navigate Nice 11. For example, the Reclassifier has been designed and built specifically for Canadian practitioners who are required to reclassify existing trademark registrations at the time of renewal. The Reclassifer quickly sorts the goods and services into the correct Nice 11 classes, and colour codes any goods or services that might need a closer look.
We can help make the transition to Nice 11 much easier, so don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can schedule a demo.
Zane Adams is an experienced trademark lawyer and expert in international trade mark registration matters. As the Head of Sales at Sortify.tm, Zane helps trademark lawyers to make the most of Sortify.tm Attorney to streamline productivity in their trademark work.