Selecting all products in a trademark class

[leo7]

Hi all

I was wondering if there is any harm in selecting the majority of the products/goods in the primary class for a trademark?

I am selling on Amazon, and my strategy is basically to find opportunities over the next few years. I currently have 2 products that fit to class 16, but I have no idea in 2 years time if I will have other products in class 16 and what these might be.

After much reading on this forum, and on the .gov site, I understand that it takes a brand new application to add more products and also classes, so in your first application it is best to try not limit yourself. The issue is though I have absolutely no idea what I might be selling this time next year...

Is there any harm in selecting around 80% or all of the goods/products in class 16, as I know I won't be able to expand this easily in the future?

Thanks
Lea

 

[surreyaces]

A couple of things to consider:

1. You need to have a genuine intention to use the mark on the goods/services that you include in your application. If you file for everything under the sun in a particular class then this could potentially be called into question.

2. The broader you go the more likely you are to run into issues with other companies that may have earlier trade mark registrations.

 

[leo7]

Thanks for your reply - appreciate it

I was wondering then, do you think my best bet would be to keep it broad? For example, I am selling party supplies in class 16, but I might in the future sell stationery which is in the same class. So rather than select over 20 stationery products, should I just select "stationery" lone which should encompass everything considered stationary like pens, notepads etc?

Thanks!
L

A couple of things to consider:

1. You need to have a genuine intention to use the mark on the goods/services that you include in your application. If you file for everything under the sun in a particular class then this could potentially be called into question.

2. The broader you go the more likely you are to run into issues with other companies that may have earlier trade mark registrations.

 

[surreyaces]

I tend to find that a mixture works - broad terms followed by the individual items of particular interest. I am sure you know this already but 'party supplies' is too broad a term and would likely be rejected by the registry.

 

[Akshara Bala]

Hi,

If you want to, you can register for all goods and services in class 16. (Assuming your mark is unique for all products and services mentioned in the class).

My simple question is, why limit / restrict yourself? The fees isn’t going to change anyway. It is okay if you don’t sell those goods in the future, but what IF you do? You’ll have to register again, and that’s double work.