Nice classification

Illustrative example; names are placeholders and the facts are invented. A Zurich start-up wants to register MARK A in Switzerland for the financial services it offers through a budgeting app. In the current Nice edition, classes 1 to 34 are goods and 35 to 45 are services; banking and other financial transactions sit in class 36. The Swiss application must describe the goods and services precisely and give each its Nice class number (MSchV Art. 11). The basic filing fee covers up to three classes, with a surcharge for each extra class (MSchV Art. 18(2)). The app itself may need a separate goods class, which your counsel confirms. Classes are an administrative grouping, not a test of conflict, so a clearance check should not stop at the applicant's own classes.

EU. Goods and services must be classified under Nice and described clearly and precisely. Class headings may be used only if they meet that standard, and they cover only their literal meaning. Being in the same class does not make goods similar, and being in different classes does not make them dissimilar. Renewal carries a fee for each class after the first. (EUTMR Art. 33(1)-(7); Art. 53(3))

UK. Each application specifies its Nice class or classes and describes the goods or services clearly and precisely. General terms, including class headings, cover only goods or services clearly within their literal meaning. The registrar's decision on which class something falls in is final. (Trade Marks Act 1994 s.34; Trade Marks Rules 2008 r.8)

US. The Director's classification exists for the USPTO's administrative convenience and does not limit or extend anyone's rights. A multi-class application pays the filing fee once for each class. (15 U.S.C. §1112)

Switzerland. Goods and services must be described precisely and carry their Nice class number. Filing more than three classes triggers a surcharge for each extra class. (MSchV (SR 232.111) Art. 11; Art. 18(2))