Trademark
Trademark classes, and how to pick the right one
A trademark is not protected everywhere. It is protected in the classes you registered it in, and nowhere else.
Updated 15 Jul 20265 min read
Trademark protection in India is granted class by class. Goods and services are divided into forty five classes under the international classification: classes 1 to 34 cover goods, and classes 35 to 45 cover services. Your registration protects your mark inside the classes you filed in.
Classes founders most often need
| Class | Covers |
|---|---|
| 9 | Software, mobile applications, downloadable content, electronics |
| 25 | Clothing, footwear, headgear |
| 30 | Coffee, tea, flour, bakery, confectionery, spices |
| 35 | Advertising, business management, retail and e-commerce services |
| 41 | Education, training, entertainment |
| 42 | Software as a service, design and development services |
A software company selling a subscription product usually needs class 42, and often class 9 as well. A food brand that also sells online usually needs its product class plus class 35 for the retail activity.
The government fee is per class
E-filing costs 4,500 rupees per class for individuals, startups, small enterprises and Udyam certificate holders, and 9,000 rupees per class for everyone else. Filing in three classes costs three times the single class fee, so classes are a budget decision as well as a legal one.
An Udyam registration is free and halves this fee. For a small business filing in two or three classes it pays for itself several times over.
Getting it wrong is expensive
You cannot add a class to a filed application. You file a fresh application, pay a fresh government fee, and take a fresh priority date, which is the date that decides who wins if two businesses claim the same mark. That is the argument for running a proper class analysis before filing rather than after.