Founding a company / Question 4
Which classes should the mark cover?
Intelligence, not legal advice. Screening is a starting point, not a clearance opinion.
The ones for the goods and services you will actually offer. A Swiss trademark protects only what its list names, and the list cannot be extended once the mark is registered. A claim you never use can no longer be asserted after five years.
01 / The classes
45 classes, one list.
The Nice Classification groups all goods and services into 45 classes. Your application has to name the goods and services precisely, in German, French or Italian, not in English. (IPI, List of goods and services)
Identical and similar marks can, in principle, only conflict if they are registered for the same or similar goods or services. (IPI) The list decides both what you can stop and who can stop you.
Check a brand name ↑02 / The cost
What a class costs.
The IPI’s filing fee is CHF 450 for ten years of protection. A class surcharge of CHF 100 applies per class from the fourth class on. (IPI, Costs and fees, as of 1 July 2024)
A registration runs ten years from the filing date. (MSchG Art. 10(1)) Renewing it for another ten years costs CHF 550. (IPI)
Check a brand name ↑03 / Use it or lose it
A claim must be used.
The list of goods and services cannot be extended once the mark is registered, so a new product line outside it may need a new filing. (IPI)
A mark not used for the claimed goods or services for an uninterrupted five years can no longer be asserted for them, unless there are proper reasons for the non-use. (MSchG Art. 12(1))
Check a brand name ↑04 / In Antevo
See where the name is already in use.
The free check screens a name across 50+ trademark registers and lists the marks near it, with office and status. Knowing who already holds the name helps you and your trademark attorney decide which goods and services to claim. No account needed; the answer appears on this page.
Check a brand name ↑Sources
Where this comes from.
The counts behind the figures and the primary sources for every legal point. Intelligence, not advice: nothing here is legal advice, and a trademark attorney confirms whether a name is free and how to protect it.