How would I know which class to file my application in?

Singapore uses the Nice Classification as prescribed by the Nice Agreement concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of the registration of marks, to classify goods and services for trade mark applications.

There are 45 classes of goods and services, and the Nice Classification assigns goods to Classes 1 to 34, and services to Classes 35 to 45. You may refer to the Class Headings of the Nice Classification for general information about the types of goods and services belonging to each class.

For the registration of your trade mark, you are required to specify the class number(s) and the appropriate description(s) of goods and/or services according to the Nice Classification.

You are strongly encouraged to use IPOS' Classification Database of pre-approved descriptions of goods and services to search for appropriate descriptions to avoid facing objections against your trade mark application and reduce the processing time. For example, if your specification of goods and/or services is found to be worded too broadly or wrongly classified, objection(s) would be raised against the specification. Consequently, this would delay the application process and additional costs may be incurred for the amendment of the specification.

For more information, please refer to Chapter 18 of our Trade Marks Work Manual pertaining to classification of goods and services.