Class Selection & Filing Strategy

Step One: Identify What You Actually Sell

The single most common cause of a wrong filing is confusing what you make with what you do.

If your business is…	You are seeking protection for…	Primary class
Manufacturing a product under your own brand	The goods themselves	The relevant goods class (1–34)
Trading, reselling or distributing others’ goods	The retail/trading service	Class 35
Manufacturing and selling under your own brand	Both	Goods class + Class 35
Providing a service	The service	The relevant service class (35–45)
Selling software as a downloadable product	The software product	Class 9
Providing the same software over the cloud	The service of providing it	Class 42

The Class 35 trap

Class 35 covers advertising, business management and retail and wholesale trading services. Many applicants file only in Class 35 because “we sell things”, believing it protects the brand on the product.

It does not. A Class 35 registration protects your brand as the name of a shop or trading platform. It does not stop a competitor from putting the same name on the product itself in Class 25 or Class 30. If your brand appears on the label, the packaging or the product, you need the goods class.

Conversely, an e-commerce marketplace that sells other people’s products genuinely needs Class 35 and does not need every goods class of everything listed on the platform.

Step Two: Map the Allied and Cognate Classes

Protection is strongest when it covers the whole commercial chain around your product, not a single point on it. Indian practice recognises allied and cognate goods — goods and services so connected in trade that use of a similar mark on one causes confusion about the other.

Worked examples of a complete class map:

A packaged snacks brand

Class 30 — namkeen, biscuits, bakery, spices (core)
Class 29 — processed fruits, dairy, oils, if the range extends
Class 32 — beverages, if drinks are planned
Class 35 — retail, distribution and franchise
Class 43 — only if outlets or cafés are planned

A software product company

Class 9 — downloadable software and mobile application (core)
Class 42 — SaaS, platform, IT consultancy and development (core)
Class 35 — if the platform also provides business or advertising services
Class 41 — if training, certification or content is offered

A clothing label

Class 25 — garments, footwear, headgear (core)
Class 35 — retail stores, online store, franchise (core)
Class 24 — fabrics and textiles, if you also sell material
Class 18 — bags, belts and leather accessories, if part of the range
Class 14 — jewellery and watches, for lifestyle brands

A restaurant or cloud kitchen

Class 43 — restaurant, café, catering, cloud kitchen (core)
Class 30 / 29 — if packaged products carry the same brand
Class 35 — franchise and outlet expansion (critical for any brand that will franchise)

An education or coaching institute

Class 41 — coaching, training, workshops, publishing (core)
Class 16 — printed study material
Class 9 — recorded courses, e-learning app
Class 42 — if the learning platform is a SaaS product

A hospital, clinic or wellness brand

Class 44 — medical, diagnostic, dental, salon and wellness services (core)
Class 5 — if medicines, supplements or formulations are branded
Class 3 — if cosmetics or skincare carry the brand
Class 10 — surgical and medical apparatus, if manufactured

Step Three: Draft the Specification of Goods Correctly

Choosing the class is half the decision. What you write inside the class is the other half.

The Registry publishes a pre-approved list of goods and services. Selecting from it moves the application through formalities faster. A custom specification is permitted but invites scrutiny.

The strategic tension:

Too narrow, and a competitor operates freely just outside your description. If you specify only “cotton shirts”, a similar mark on trousers may fall outside your registration.
Too broad, and you attract avoidable objections under Section 11 because you have collided with a wider field of earlier marks. Worse, you expose the registration to rectification for non-use under Section 47, which allows removal of a mark that has not been used for a continuous period of five years and three months from the date of entry in the register.

Our approach: claim the full commercial breadth you can genuinely support within a reasonable expansion horizon, expressed in the Registry’s own accepted terminology — and no wider.

Step Four: Decide Between Multi-Class and Separate Applications

Section 18(2) of the Act permits a single application in multiple classes, with fee payable for each class.

	Single multi-class application	Separate single-class applications
Government fee	Identical — per class either way	Identical — per class either way
Application numbers	One	One per class
Documentation	One set of papers, one power of attorney	Repeated for each filing
Objection in one class	Can hold up the entire application	Affects only that class; others proceed
Opposition in one class	Can stall the whole file	Contained to the opposed class
Assignment / licensing later	Must divide the application first	Each class transfers independently
Renewal	Single renewal, single date	Separate renewals to diary
Best for	Clean, low-conflict marks; administrative simplicity	Marks where one class carries known conflict risk

Our general recommendation: where the search report shows a materially higher conflict risk in one class than the others, file that class separately so that a fight in one class does not delay registration in the rest. Where all classes are clean, a multi-class application is simpler to administer.

A multi-class application can be divided later by filing a request with the Registry, but division costs time and fee. Getting the structure right at filing is cheaper.

Step Five: Decide What to File — Word, Logo, or Both

Filing	What it protects	Strategic use
Word mark	The name in any font, size, colour, style or arrangement	The broadest and most enforceable right. File this first in almost every case.
Device / logo mark	The specific visual representation as filed	File where the logo is distinctive, final, and carries independent recognition.
Composite mark	The word and device as a combination	Weakest of the three. If the word element is disclaimed, protection over the name alone is diluted.

The sequence we recommend for most businesses: word mark first in the core class. Logo mark second, once the visual identity is settled — logos change; names rarely do. A composite mark alone is filed only where the brand is genuinely used only in that combined form.

Series marks under Section 15(3): where you use several marks that resemble each other in material particulars and differ only in non-distinctive matter (for example, colour, or a descriptive suffix), they may be registered as a series in a single application. This is a significant cost saving for brands operating sub-variants — but the Registry applies the “material particulars” test strictly.

Associated marks under Section 16: where identical or similar marks are registered by the same proprietor for the same or similar goods, the Registrar may require them to be entered as associated trade marks, which restricts assignment of one without the others.

Step Six: Fix the Applicant and the Ownership Structure

The name on the application is the name that owns the brand. Changing it later means an assignment, with stamp duty, documentation and a recordal on Form TM-P.

Individual or sole proprietor. Simple, and qualifies for the concessional fee. Suitable for solo practices and early-stage ventures. Drawback: the brand sits with a person, not the business, which complicates funding and exit.

Private limited company or LLP. The brand becomes a company asset, visible on the balance sheet and in due diligence. This is the right structure for anything that will raise capital. Note that a company that is not a startup or small enterprise pays the higher fee.

Founder or holding entity as owner, operating company as licensee. Common in franchise and multi-entity groups. The mark is held centrally and licensed to operating companies, often for a royalty. This requires a written licence and, ideally, registration of the licensee as a registered user.

Joint proprietorship (Section 24). Two or more persons may hold a mark jointly where the rights are held in common. Partnerships and co-founder brands use this, but exit becomes complicated. Plan the exit at the time of filing, not afterwards.

Fee position — arrange it before you file, not after

The concessional fee of ₹4,500 per class (against ₹9,000) applies to individuals, sole proprietors, DPIIT-recognised startups and enterprises holding a valid Udyam (MSME) registration. Where a joint application includes an applicant who does not qualify, the higher fee applies to the whole application.

Obtaining Udyam registration or DPIIT recognition before filing legitimately halves the statutory fee. On a five-class portfolio that is a saving of ₹22,500. This is one of the most straightforward pieces of value in the entire filing process, and it is missed constantly.

Step Seven: Decide the Basis of Use

Every application must state either a date of first use or that the mark is “Proposed to be Used”.

Claiming prior use gives you seniority over anyone who filed earlier but used later, and strengthens your position in opposition and infringement proceedings. But the claim must be supported by an affidavit of use with contemporaneous documentary evidence — invoices, advertisements, packaging artwork, GST returns, purchase orders, website archives.

A false or unsupported use claim is a serious strategic error. In opposition or rectification, the opponent will demand the evidence. If your earliest invoice post-dates your claimed date, the credibility of your entire case collapses, and the application can fail on that ground alone.

Where the evidence is thin, file as “Proposed to be Used.” There is no penalty for it. You can begin using the mark the day after filing, and the filing date itself gives you priority against later applicants.

Step Eight: Choose the Filing Route and the Timing

Where to file

The appropriate office of the Trade Marks Registry is determined by the applicant’s principal place of business in India. The Delhi office has jurisdiction over Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Chandigarh. Filing at the wrong office causes procedural objections and delay.

National route vs Madrid Protocol

For businesses with any international ambition:

National filings — a separate application in each country. More expensive per country, but each registration stands independently and is not vulnerable to what happens in India.
Madrid Protocol — a single international application filed through the Indian Registry as office of origin, designating multiple member countries. Cost-effective for four or more countries, and centrally managed. The critical caveat is central attack: for the first five years, the international registration depends on the Indian base application. If the Indian mark is refused or cancelled in that period, the international registration falls with it.

Our advice for exporters: secure a clean Indian registration first. Use Madrid for breadth once the Indian base is stable, and use national filings for the one or two markets that genuinely matter commercially.

Convention priority under Section 154

If you have filed in a Convention country, you may claim that earlier filing date in India by filing within six months of the foreign application. This is a hard deadline and it is not extendable. Diarise it the day the foreign application is filed.

Expedited processing

Under the Trade Marks Rules, 2017, a request for expedited processing may be filed on Form TM-M for ₹20,000 (individual, startup or small enterprise) or ₹40,000 (others), on e-filing. It accelerates examination and subsequent stages considerably. Worth it where a funding round, a product launch, a tender or a franchise agreement is dependent on the registration.

When to file

Before you incorporate the company, so the MCA name and the trademark align
Before the brand appears on packaging, hoardings or the website
Before a product launch, a trade fair or a large marketing spend
Before a funding round or a franchise agreement is signed
Immediately if you discover a similar mark being filed by someone else

Priority in India is determined by the date of application, not the date the business started trading. Every week of delay is a week in which someone else can take your date.

Portfolio Strategy for Growing Businesses

Once a business has more than one brand, filing stops being a transaction and becomes portfolio management.

House mark and product marks. File the house mark broadly across every class the group touches. File individual product marks narrowly, in their own classes. The house mark carries the goodwill; the product marks carry the specific market position.

Defensive filings. Where a name is central to your identity, filing in an adjacent class you do not yet operate in prevents a third party from establishing a foothold there. This is defensive expenditure, and it should be proportionate — defensive filings in classes you will never use are exposed to non-use rectification after five years and three months.

Taglines. A slogan can be registered as a word mark if it is distinctive and not merely laudatory or descriptive. Taglines that simply praise the product (“The Best Quality”) fail under Section 9.

Transliterations and regional scripts. For brands with a Devanagari or regional-language presence, the script version is a separate mark and should be filed separately.

Domain and handle alignment. File the mark and secure the digital identity at the same time. A registered mark makes an INDRP or UDRP domain recovery far easier.

Watch and renew. Diarise the ten-year renewal, and monitor the Trade Marks Journal for third-party applications that encroach on your classes. Opposition within the four-month window is far cheaper than rectification or litigation afterwards.

Filing Mistakes We See Most Often

Filing only in Class 35 for a brand that appears on the product
Filing only the goods class for a business that will franchise or open outlets
Copying a competitor’s class from the public register without checking whether their business model matches yours
Writing a specification so broad that it manufactures Section 11 objections
Writing a specification so narrow that a competitor operates just outside it
Bundling a high-risk class into a multi-class application and stalling the clean classes
Filing in the founder’s name when the company will be raising capital
Claiming a use date that the invoices cannot support
Filing without Udyam or DPIIT recognition and paying double the statutory fee
Filing the composite logo only, and losing protection over the name itself
Missing the six-month Convention priority deadline
Filing at the wrong Registry office for the applicant’s principal place of business

How Delhi Legal Company Structures Your Filing

Business mapping — a structured discussion of what you make, what you sell, how you sell it, and where you intend to be in three years
Class map — core classes, allied classes and a phased plan for defensive filings, with the cost of each stage stated upfront
Specification drafting — the widest defensible description in the Registry’s accepted terminology
Structure recommendation — multi-class or separate, word or logo or series, applicant identity and fee position
Use-basis assessment — a candid view on whether your evidence supports a prior use claim
Route and timing — national, Madrid or Convention priority, with expedited processing where the commercial calendar demands it
Filing and prosecution — TM-A filing, objection replies, hearings, opposition and renewal, from the same team that planned the strategy

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is class selection in trademark filing?

A. Class selection is the process of identifying which of the 45 classes under the Nice Classification cover your goods or services. A trademark right exists only in relation to the goods or services specified, so the class determines the entire scope of protection you receive.

2. Can I change the class after filing my trademark application?

A. No. The class cannot be amended once the application is filed. The only remedy is to abandon that application and file a fresh one in the correct class, which means paying the government fee again and losing your original priority date.

3. How do I know which class my business falls into?

A. It depends on whether you are protecting goods, a service, or both. If your brand appears on a product you manufacture, you need the relevant goods class from 1 to 34. If you provide a service, you need the relevant service class from 35 to 45. Businesses that manufacture and also retail under the same brand usually need both.

4. Is Class 35 enough if I sell products online?

A. Usually not. Class 35 protects your brand as the name of a shop, trading business or e-commerce platform. It does not stop someone using the same name on the product itself. If your brand is printed on the product, the label or the packaging, you also need the goods class.

5. What is the difference between Class 9 and Class 42 for software?

A. Class 9 covers software as a product — downloadable software and mobile applications. Class 42 covers software as a service, cloud platforms, development, and IT consultancy. Most modern software businesses need both, because they distribute an app and also provide the service behind it.

6. What is a multi-class trademark application?

A. Section 18(2) of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 permits a single application covering several classes, with the fee payable for each class. You receive one application number covering all the classes, rather than a separate application for each.

7. Is a multi-class application cheaper than filing separately?

A. The government fee is identical either way, because it is charged per class per mark. A multi-class application saves on paperwork and administration, not on statutory fee. Professional fees may differ slightly.

8. Should I file one multi-class application or separate applications?

A. Where all your classes are low-risk, a multi-class application is simpler to manage. Where one class carries a known conflict risk, we recommend filing that class separately — otherwise an objection or opposition in that single class can delay registration in all the others.

9. How many classes should I file in?

A. File in every class where your brand is used today, plus the classes you will realistically enter within the next three to five years. Filing in classes you will never use wastes fee and exposes the registration to removal for non-use under Section 47.

10. What is the specification of goods and why does it matter?

A. The specification is the description of the exact goods or services you are claiming inside a class. It defines the boundary of your right. Too narrow and a competitor operates just outside it; too broad and you invite objections and non-use challenges.

11. Can my registration be removed if I do not use the mark?

A. Yes. Under Section 47 of the Act, a registration may be removed on the ground of non-use where the mark has not been used in relation to the registered goods or services for a continuous period of five years and three months from the date it was entered in the register.

12. Should I file the word mark or the logo first?

A. In most cases the word mark first. A word mark protects the name in any font, colour or style, which is the broadest and most enforceable right. The logo is filed separately once the visual identity is final, because logos are redesigned far more often than names are changed.

13. What is a series mark?

A. Under Section 15(3) of the Act, several marks that resemble each other in material particulars and differ only in non-distinctive matter — such as colour or a descriptive addition — may be registered as a series in a single application. It is a cost-effective route for brands with closely related variants.

14. Should the trademark be in my name or my company’s name?

A. It depends on your plans. Individual ownership is simpler and attracts the concessional fee. Company ownership makes the brand a business asset, which matters for funding, valuation and exit. Groups that franchise often hold the mark in a holding entity and license it to operating companies.

15. Can two or more people own a trademark jointly?

A. Yes. Section 24 of the Act permits joint proprietorship where the rights in the mark are held in common. It is used by partnerships and co-founder brands, but joint ownership makes a later exit or assignment more complicated, so the arrangement should be documented at the outset.

16. How do I get the lower government fee of ₹4,500?

A. The concessional fee applies to individuals, sole proprietors, DPIIT-recognised startups and enterprises with a valid Udyam registration. If you qualify, obtain the Udyam certificate or DPIIT recognition before filing. If any applicant in a joint application does not qualify, the higher fee applies to the whole application.

17. What does “Proposed to be Used” mean?

A. It means you have not yet started using the mark commercially and intend to do so. There is no disadvantage to filing on this basis. You can begin using the mark immediately after filing, and your priority runs from the filing date.

18. Should I claim a prior date of use?

A. Only if you can prove it. A prior use claim requires an affidavit supported by invoices, advertisements, packaging and tax records from that date. An unsupported claim will be attacked in opposition and can damage your credibility across the whole case.

19. Where should I file my application?

A. At the office of the Trade Marks Registry having jurisdiction over your principal place of business in India. The Delhi office covers Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and Chandigarh. Filing at the wrong office causes procedural objections.

20. What is the Madrid Protocol and should I use it?

A. The Madrid Protocol allows a single international application, filed through the Indian Registry, designating multiple member countries. It is cost-effective from about four countries onwards. The caveat is central attack — for five years the international registration depends on the Indian base application, so secure a clean Indian registration first.

21. What is Convention priority?

A. Under Section 154 of the Act, if you have filed an application in a Convention country you may claim that earlier date in India by filing within six months of the foreign application. The deadline is strict and cannot be extended.

22. What is expedited processing and is it worth the cost?

A. Expedited processing is requested on Form TM-M for ₹20,000 for individuals, startups and small enterprises, or ₹40,000 for others, on e-filing. It accelerates examination and later stages significantly. It is worth the cost where a funding round, a tender, a launch or a franchise agreement depends on the registration.

23. When is the right time to file?

A. Before you incorporate the company, before the brand appears on packaging or signage, before a launch or a trade fair, and before any funding round. Priority in India runs from the date of application, not from the date you started trading.

24. Can I file for a tagline or slogan?

A. Yes, if it is distinctive. A slogan that is merely laudatory or descriptive of the goods will be refused under Section 9. Coined or unusual phrasing has a far better prospect than a generic claim of quality.

25. Do I need a separate application for the Hindi or regional-language version of my brand?

A. Yes. A mark written in Devanagari or another script is treated as a separate mark and should be filed separately if you use it commercially. The English version does not automatically cover the transliterated version.

26. Can I add a class to my application later?

A. No. A new class requires a new application with its own fee and its own priority date. This is precisely why the class map should be finalised before the first filing, with a phased plan for any classes you intend to add as the business grows.

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