What can I specify in the list?

You can only specify your list with such goods or services that actually belonged to the class in question when you applied for the trademark. This means you cannot use the specification opportunity to add any new items to your list.

Difference between class headings and the Nice Alphabetical List

Class headings provide you with a general overview of what sorts of goods or services are included in each class. The terms used in the class headings are general terms connected to the field that the goods and services primarily belong to.

The Nice Alphabetical List is a list of example goods and services that belong to each class. However, a class can also include a great deal of other goods or services.

For example, the class heading for class 35 is “advertising; business management; business administration; office functions".0} The alphabetical list sets out some retail trade services under class 35, but this class also includes other retail trade services than the ones given in the list.

Example 1 – what can be specified in the list

Your list of goods and services contains:

• only a class number
• the text: “all goods included in the class" or something equivalent; or
• an entire class heading and the trademark application was filed before 1 October 2012.

You can specify the list by adding any goods or services that belonged to the class in question when you submitted your application. This also includes other goods and services than the ones set out in the Nice Alphabetical List. However, you cannot add any products that were not yet known on the market at the date of your application.

For example, a mark that was applied for in the 1970s cannot include USB memory sticks, as their development was not started until 1994.

Example 2 – what can be specified in the list

Your list of goods and services contains the text: “all other goods/services included in this class in the alphabetical list of the Nice Classification". In this case, you can specify the list by adding any goods or services that belonged to the class in question as set out in the alphabetical list when you submitted your application.

When specifying the list, the classification in all classes must be revised to correspond to the current classification practice

When you file a specification notification, specify the entire list for your registered trademark at the same time to make it correspond to the current classification practice. Go through each class in the list and specify all imprecise terms and class headings in accordance with the current classification practice.

For example, terms like “sales services" in class 35 and “installation services" in class 37 are imprecise. In your specification notification, you must define what goods or devices the services concern.

If necessary, we will send you an office action requesting that you specify all the remaining imprecise terms and class headings in the list.

See the class headings that are currently valid, and the links to older class headings.

Go to the Nice Alphabetical List on the WIPO website.Open link in a new tab