Trademark Class 35: Advertising and Business Services

Trademark Class 35 includes services for advertising, business management, administration, and office functions. The class includes mainly services rendered by persons or organizations principally to help in:

1. the working or management of a commercial undertaking
2. the management of the business affairs or commercial functions of an industrial or commercial enterprise, or
3. the advertising of commercial services.

Specifically, the class includes online retail stores, advertising agencies, business management consultancy, bookkeeping, market research, clerical services, and computerized file management.

What Services Are Included Under Trademark Class 35?

The following is a more comprehensive list of Class 35 services:

• Advertising, marketing, and promotional services, advertising and publicity, advertising agencies, publicity agencies, bill-posting, outdoor advertising, layout services for advertising purposes, marketing, modeling for advertising or sales promotion, online advertising on a computer network, production of advertising films, publication of publicity texts, publication of publicity materials, publicity material rental, radio advertising, production and distribution of radio and television commercials, sales promotion for others, sponsorship search, telemarketing services, television advertising, production of television commercials, and updating of advertising material.
• Public relations and public relation consultancy.
• Product demonstrations, demonstration of goods, and shop window dressing.
• Trade show and exhibition services, organization of fashion shows for promotional purposes, organization of exhibitions for commercial or advertising purposes, and organization of trade fairs.
• Provision of advertising space, time and media, rental of advertising space, and rental of advertising time on communication media.
• Distribution of advertising, marketing, and promotional material, advertising by mail order, direct mail advertising, dissemination of advertising matter, and distribution of samples for publicity purposes.
• Advertising, marketing and promotional consultancy, advisory and assistance services, and development of marketing campaigns
• Commercial trading and consumer information services, administrative processing of purchase orders, arranging newspaper subscriptions for others, arranging subscriptions to telecommunication services for others, commercial information and advice for consumers in the choice of products and services, commercial administration of the licensing of the goods and services of others, import-export agencies, price comparison services, and purchasing and procurement services for others.
• Retail and wholesale store services, retail or wholesale services for pharmaceutical, veterinary and sanitary preparations and medical supplies, online retail or wholesale store services, retail grocery stores, retail convenience stores, and wholesale food distribution services.
• Auctioneering services, online auctioneering, and auctioneering of property.
• Rental of vending machines and water vending machine services.
• Business management and administration assistance, business management of hotels, business management of performing artists, business management of sports people, commercial or industrial management assistance, business efficiency expert services, outsourcing services [business assistance], business administration services for the relocation of employees, businesses, or personnel, and telephone answering service.
• Accountancy, bookkeeping, auditing, business auditing, account auditing, preparation of financial statements, and tax preparation.
• Data processing, compilation of information into computer databases, data search in computer files for others, computerized file management, and systemization of information into computer databases.
• Human resources management and recruitment services, employment agencies, personnel recruitment or placement, personnel management or consultancy, and psychological testing for the selection of personnel.
• Clerical services, document reproduction, invoicing, payroll preparation, photocopying services, secretarial services, shorthand typing, conference call transcription, typing, and word processing.
• Business consultancy and advisory services, business management consultancy, business management and organization consultancy, business organization consultancy, professional business consultancy, business advice, inquiries, or information, and business management consulting and advisory services.
• Rental of office machinery and equipment, rental of photocopying machines, and rental of typewriters and copying machines.
• Business analysis, research, and information services, business information, business appraisals, business investigations, business research, commercial information agencies, cost price analysis, economic forecasting, and news clipping services.
• Market research, market reports and studies, and opinion polling.
• Collection and systematization of written communications and data, compilation of statistics, and compilation of advertisements.

What Services Aren't Included Under Class 35?

But you would not use Class 35 if you're applying for:

• financial planning (Class 36 - Insurance and Financial Services)
• financial valuations (Class 36 - Insurance and Financial Services)
• arranging professional workshops Class 41 - Education and Entertainment Services)
• electronic data storage (Class 42 - Computer and Scientific Services), and
• restaurant services (Class 43 - Hotels and Restaurants Services).

Examples of Trademarks in Class 35

You can find trademarks that have been applied for or registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under Class 35 in the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), an electronic trademark database.

Some well-known examples of Class 35 marks include:

• TARGET (retail department store)
• PAYCHEX (payroll services), and
• NIELSEN (market research).

USPTO Trademark Classes

The USPTO, the federal agency that oversees the registration of federal trademarks, divides marks into 45 different classes of products and services. The purpose of these classes is to allow different types of businesses to register their trademarks into categories most related to their core business.

The first 34 classes consist of different broad categories of goods. The last 11 classes consist of different broad categories of services.

Related or Coordinated Classes to Class 35

If you're not sure whether you should apply for your mark under Class 35, you can consider a "coordinated" class. A coordinated class is one that's related to another class, usually because the USPTO has determined that applicants filing within one particular class often file in other specific classes, too.

For Class 35, the USPTO has determined the following classes to be coordinated classes:

• Class 36 - Insurance and Financial Services
• Class 37 - Construction and Repair Services
• Class 38 - Telecommunications Services
• Class 39 - Transportation and Storage Services
• Class 40 - Material Treatment Services
• Class 41 - Education and Entertainment Services
• Class 42 - Computer and Scientific Services
• Class 43 - Hotels and Restaurants Services
• Class 44 - Medical, Beauty, and Agricultural Services, and
• Class 45 - Personal and Legal Services.

Trademark Filing Fees

The trademark class system will also affect the scope of the registration fees that you pay. The USPTO charges a set filing fee per class of goods or services. So if you apply for a trademark for posters (Class 16) and shirts (Class 25), you must pay the filing fee for two classes, which is double the filing fee for one class. (37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(2022).)

Be sure to indicate the correct class at the time you're registering a trademark—if the application doesn't already do so for you. If you list the incorrect class, you must restart the application process, and your filing fees will not be refunded.

Your registration is restricted to those classes that encompass the goods or services you're already offering (as shown by the specimens you submit) or that you plan to offer (if you're registering on an intent-to-use basis).

USPTO Specimens

At some point in the trademark application process, you'll need to supply the USPTO with a specimen. A specimen is a real-world example of how your mark is being used in association with your goods or services. In other words, it's how customers come across your mark as they shop for your goods or services.

If you're applying for a use-in-commerce trademark (you're already using your trademark to sell your goods or services), then you'll submit a specimen with your trademark application. If you're applying for an intent-to-use trademark (you haven't started using your trademark yet but plan to), then you'll submit a specimen after you've already submitted your trademark application once the trademark examiner—the person at the USPTO reviewing your application—requests it from you.

For every class of goods or services, you'll need to submit at least one specimen regardless of how many goods or services are listed under the class. So, if you apply for hats, t-shirts, and socks under Class 25, then you'll only need to submit one specimen and you can choose which good to include in your specimen.

(37 C.F.R. §2.34(b)(2)(2022).)

Acceptable Specimens for a Service Mark

A specimen for a service trademark must show use of the mark in a manner that would be perceived by potential purchasers as identifying the applicant's services and indicating the service's source.

When the mark is used in advertising the services, your specimen must show an association between the mark and the services you're applying for. A specimen that shows only the mark, with no reference to the services, doesn't show service mark usage.

When offering a service, you don't have a product you can put a label on. Instead, your specimen will need to show how your trademark is being used to sell your service. So, your specimen can show how you're using your trademark to promote your services or how your trademark is used in the performance or rendering of your service. (37 C.F.R. §2.56(b)(2)(2022).)

Acceptable specimens for services include a variety of materials that can't be used for product marks. For a service trademark, you can submit specimens that include:

• newspaper and magazine ads
• brochures
• billboards
• direct mail pieces
• menus (for restaurants)
• publicly available press releases—such as on the applicant's website, and
• letterhead stationery—for instance, invoices—and business cards showing the mark when the services are plainly reflected on them.

If your services are rendered online, you can use a screenshot of the webpage where the trademark and reference to the services appear. Ideally, the trademark will be displayed in the webpage header, but any prominent showing of the trademark that appears near a description of the services will work. Be sure you include—either on the screenshot or in the application—the website URL and the date you last accessed the webpage. (37 C.F.R. §2.56(c)(2022).)

While most marks appear in writing somewhere, trademarks can also be in audio format. If your mark represents a service, and it appears only on radio ads or in some other audio form, you can submit a sound file of the audio.

Unacceptable Specimens for a Service Mark

The following are unacceptable specimens for service marks:

• news releases or articles based on news releases that are only sent to the news media
• documents showing trademark rather than service mark usage (use of the mark in connection with goods rather than services)
• invoices and similar documents such as packing slips, unless the invoice identifies the mark and the services represented by the mark, and
• letterhead or business cards that bear only the mark and a company name and address, unless the letterhead or the text of the letter identifies the services represented by the mark.

For more information about trademarks and federal registration, see our section on trademark law.