Nice classification (trademark goods and services)

A buyer meets the Nice Classification when checking what a brand’s registered trademark actually covers. The Trademarks Act defines it as the classification established by the Nice Agreement, including the amendments and revisions to which Canada is a party. The classes organize the goods and services listed on a trademark’s record.

How it works

Section 30(2) requires an application to state the goods or services in ordinary commercial terms, and section 30(3) requires them to be grouped by class. Under section 19, subject to sections 21, 32 and 67, registration gives the owner, unless shown to be invalid, the exclusive right to use the mark throughout Canada in respect of those goods or services. A class is not a fence against confusion, though: section 6(2) applies its confusion test whether or not the goods or services appear in the same class.

What to check

• Whether the listed goods and services match what the business actually sells
• Whether the register shows every class the brand is used in
• Whether a similar mark sits in a different class

The register search answer shows how to look a mark up, and trademark assignment covers moving ownership of it.