Is it possible to register a trademark in all classes?

In total, there are 45 classes of goods and services that define the scope of protection for a registered trademark. While there are some trademarks that include all of these 45 classes, this is not a common practice and there are several good reasons for it.

First of all, the inclusion of additional classes on a trademark application is associated with an extra fee charged by the government (and a corresponding service fee charged by the provider of trademark registration, if you are using one). Secondly, a registered trademark that fails to prove use in commerce criterion within 5 years since registration can be invalidated. In other words, if the trademark was registered in all 45 classes despite the fact that it is only used in the context of goods and services that fall into 1 or 2 classes, such application can be challenged and potentially invalidated in the remaining classes of goods and services. The third and arguably the most important reason against registering a trademark in all classes relates to the delicate balance between the scope of protection and the risk of the trademark application being refused. The chances that a similar trademark has been already registered increase rapidly with the inclusion of extra classes and the owners of such similar previously registered trademarks have the right to successfully oppose a new trademark registration.

Overall, our best recommendation is to narrow down the scope of trademark protection to the classes of goods and services that are highly relevant for the given brand, both in terms of current product / service offering and the future expansion plans. Team Trama is ready to help to make these decisions, providing very practical advice as part of the trademark application drafting process. Should you however wish to get a better insight into the classes of goods and services, and which of them are the most relevant for your business, we would like to direct your attention towards our industry-specific lists of recommended trademark classes in our Class Assist.