Indicating goods and services in your application
Specify accurately in your application what you want to protect with your trademark. In good time before filing your application, first determine the goods or services you intend to use the trademark for. You can use a tool like TMclass to find out which class your product or service belongs to. Then, indicate the goods or services clearly in your application.
Please observe that you cannot add any extra goods or services to the original list of goods and services after the application has become pending.
Choosing the right class
Before filing your application, you need to determine the products or services that you are already using the trademark for or possibly intend to use it for in the near future. Choose the goods and services for your application accordingly. If you use the trademark as a symbol for goods, choose from classes 1–34, or if you use it as a symbol for services, choose from classes 35–45.
Example 1: If you use the trademark for cars, the primary class is class 12, which includes cars as goods. If you use the mark as a symbol for a car rental service, the primary class is class 39, which includes car rental services.
Example 2: A computer software business wants to register a trademark. The business uses the mark as a symbol both for the software and for custom-made programming services. It applies for a trademark registration in class 9 for goods with the term “computer software" and in class 42 for services with the term “computer software design and development".
How to indicate goods and services in the application
When filling in your trademark application using our online service, you can use the ready-made terms (indications of goods and services) available for selection in the classifying tool of the service. The terms provided in the tool have already been approved by us at the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). Using these terms will make the processing of your application faster because we do not need to check your list separately.
You can also write the list of goods and services for your application yourself. In this case, we will go through the list and inform you of any defects and faults by sending you a formal office action.
Where can I get information and help with choosing the class?
Read the page Class headings for a general idea of how goods and services are divided into classes.
When drawing up your application, you can make use of the TMclass classification tool or Goods and services builderOpen link in a new tab. You can also use the classifying tool in our online application. These resources include classification terms already approved by the PRH. You can speed up the application process by using these terms.
Please note that if you want to include a product or a service which you are not sure how to classify, it is best you describe the term on the list of goods and services in your application, in order to make it clear that the product or service is included in the list. If you have classified the product or service incorrectly in your application, we will send you an office action to ask you to correct the classification.
Example: A business manufacturing snowshoes is applying for a trademark registration and has classified the goods as "Class 25: Snowshoes" in the application. However, since snowshoes belong to class 28, the PRH sends an office action to advise the applicant to correct the classification to "Class 28: Snowshoes". If the applicant had indicated the classification as "Class 25: Clothing, footwear, headgear, snowshoes", the PRH would have advised the applicant to correct it to “Class 25: Clothing, footwear, headgear; Class 28: Snowshoes".
PRH advisory service for trademark classification
If you cannot find help by using these pages, the TMclass classification tool or the classifying tool in our online application, you can consult our advisory service for classification
- by phone: +358 29 509 5251.
If you fail to reach the classifier, you can also ask for advice by email:
- luokitusneuvonta(at)prh.fi
You cannot extend the list after filing your application
Before filing your application, it is important to check that the classification is as correct as possible. After the application has become pending, you cannot add any extra goods or services to the original list of goods and services. However, you can limit the list any time while the registration is valid.
Example: A business manufacturing snowshoes wants to register a trademark. The heading for class 25 is “Clothing, footwear, headgear". However, snowshoes are classified as sporting articles in class 28, the heading of which is “Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees". If the business applies for the trademark incorrectly in class 25, the application will not cover snowshoes.
Example of limitation
- Class 25 “Clothing, footwear, headgear"
- Class 25 “Clothing"
- Class 25 “Outerclothing for men"
- Class 25 “Anoraks for men"