Is it better to register as many trademark classes as possible?

The selection of relevant classes of goods and services represents a key part of the process of drafting a trademark application. In essence, the scope of protection of a registered trademark is defined by the specific classes of goods and services and as such, it is highly recommended to include goods and services that your brand offers at the present moment as well as those that you are planning to expand into in the near future. The inclusion of an excessive number of trademark classes however also increases the risk of a trademark application being refused. This is mainly caused by the fact that owners of previously registered trademarks have the right to oppose new trademark applications should they view them as closely similar in terms of both the resemblance to their own brand and the overlap in the specific goods and services offered.

As a result, achieving the right balance between the broad scope of protection for the goods and services offered by a brand and the specific selection of trademark classes to minimise the risk of an application being refused is one of the key strategies for ensuring successful trademark registration. To give you a better insight into the most relevant classes of goods and services for virtually any business, we have put together recommendations for individual industry sectors as part of our Class Assist.