Trademark Classification is the classification of goods and services into different classes. The person/organization has to register the mark in one of the classes in which that person/organization’s goods or services fall.
Section 13 of the Trademarks Act, 1999, provides that the registrar shall classify the goods and services in different classes according to the International Classification of Goods and Services to register trademarks.
In India, we follow the Nice Classification which is provided by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Nice classification has a total of 45 classes. Out of these 45 classes, classes 1-34 classify different kinds of products and classes 35-45 classify different type of services.
To register your trademark, you have to apply for registration of your mark under at least one of the classes provided by the Nice Classification. For eg if a person/organization is in the business of sale or manufacturing of musical instruments then the trademark has to be registered under class 15, if a person/organization is in the business of sale of coffee then the trademark has to be registered under class 30, and if a person/organization is in the business of providing legal services then the trademark has to registered under class 45.
Once the trademark is registered in a particular class, then that mark has to be used for that good or service only. If a person/organization wants to use it for a different product or service, then he has to register that mark again under the relevant class. Filing the mark under the wrong class or using the mark for a different product or service can result in the loss of rights of the owner in case of infringement.
There are many benefits of classifying different goods and services into different classes such as it helps the owner of the trademark in exclusive identification and building trust among the consumers.