A Trademark classification is used to make it easier to register all trademarks and service marks in a variety of fields with national and international trademark offices across the world.
The International (Nice) Classification of Goods and Services divides different goods and services into 45 Trademark Classes (1 to 34 cover goods, and 35 to 45 cover services). The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines uses this classification (IPOPHL).
Class 10 includes mainly Surgical, medical, dental, and veterinary apparatus and instruments; Artificial limbs, eyes, and teeth; Orthopedic articles; Suture materials; Therapeutic and assistive devices adapted for the disabled; Massage apparatus; Apparatus, devices, and articles for nursing infants; Sexual activity apparatus.
Trademark Class 10 does not include the following Items:
- Wheelchairs and mobility scooters (Class 12);
- Tobacco-free cigarettes for medical purposes (Class 5) and electronic cigarettes (Class 34).
- Surgical implants comprised of living tissue (Class 5);
- Medical dressings and absorbent sanitary articles (Class 5);
- Massage tables and hospital beds (Class 20).
Related or Coordinated Classes
If you are not sure whether you should register in Class 10, you might also consider the following “coordinated” classes:
- Class 5: Pharmaceuticals,
- Class 35: Advertising and Business Services,
- Class 42: Science and Technology Services,
- Class 44: Medical and Vet Services.
A coordinated class is one that is related to another class, usually, because the USPTO has determined that applicants filing within Class 10 often file in these other classes, too.
Supplying Specimens for Class 10
If the mark is utilized in commerce, you must provide a sample of the mark as it appears to customers. The mark must be seen on or in connection with the products in commerce on the specimen. A trademark specimen should be a label, tag, or container for the goods, or an associated display. It is acceptable to provide a photocopy or other reproduction of a specimen of the mark as it is used on or in connection with the products.
A label is an admissible specimen in most circumstances where the trademark is affixed to the goods or containers for the items in Class 10 by means of labels. If shipping or mailing labels are placed to the items or the containers holding the goods, and if valid trademark usage is established, they may be accepted. If the mark is just used as a trade name and not as a trademark, they are not acceptable. The use of the phrase purely as a return address is an example of this.
A legitimate form of trademark affixation is to stamp a trademark on the goods, on the container, or on tags or labels connected to the goods or containers. The trademark can be imprinted in the items’ body, as with metal stamping; it can be applied with a rubber stamp; or it can be inked on with the help of a stencil or template. Photographs or facsimiles of the actual stamping or stenciling are permitted as specimens when a trademark is utilized in this way.
The word “applied to the containers for the commodities” refers to any sort of commercial packaging that is customary for the specific goods as they move through trade. As a result, a display of the trademark on a typical commercial package for Class 10 items is an acceptable specimen. Fuel pumps, for example, are considered ordinary containers or “packing” for gasoline.
If this is the regular method of use of a mark for the particular products, a specimen showing the use of the trademark on a vehicle in which the goods are marketed to the relevant purchasers may represent the use of the mark on a container for the goods.