If you sell clothing, shoes, or hats in the United States, Trademark Class 25 is the USPTO category you file in. Class 25 covers finished garments, footwear, and headwear worn on the body. It is almost never the only class an apparel brand needs. Selling those goods through a store or website is a service that lives in a different class, and any accessories you sell alongside the clothing usually live in their own classes too. Getting the class list right at filing is what determines whether your registration actually protects the way your brand operates.
What Class 25 Covers
The WIPO Nice Classification describes Class 25 as “clothing, footwear, headwear.”1World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 25 The label is short; the coverage is broad. It reaches:
- Everyday clothing: shirts, dresses, coats, jackets, pants, leggings, and knitwear
- Underwear and sleepwear: boxer shorts, brassieres, corsets, pajamas, and dressing gowns
- Athletic and specialty wear: cycling clothing, judo and karate uniforms, football shoes, gymnastic shoes, and ski boots
- Accessories worn on the body: belts, scarves, gloves, neckties, and pocket squares
- Footwear: boots, ankle boots, sandals, galoshes, and sports shoes
- Headwear: hats, berets, caps, headbands, and headscarves
The controlling idea is that the item is a finished product worn on the body. Masquerade costumes qualify, and even paper clothing designed to be worn qualifies. Parts of clothing such as cuffs, pockets, heels, and cap peaks are also in Class 25.1World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 25
Products That Look Like Apparel but Belong Elsewhere
Classification follows what the product is, not what industry sells it. Several categories that apparel brands routinely add to a collection sit outside Class 25, and skipping their classes leaves gaps a competitor can walk through.
Textiles and fabrics belong in Class 24, which covers piece goods and textile materials such as bolts of fabric, bed linens, towels, curtains, and table covers.2World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 24 If you sell fabric as its own product rather than using it to make garments, add Class 24.
Leather goods, bags, and luggage belong in Class 18, which covers handbags, wallets, purses, backpacks, umbrellas, and carrying bags.3World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 18 A leather belt worn on your body is Class 25. A leather handbag you carry is Class 18.
Jewelry and traditional watches belong in Class 14, which covers precious metals, jewellery (including imitation jewellery), cufflinks, tie pins, and horological instruments such as clocks and watches.4World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 14 Smartwatches and other wearable technology belong in Class 9, which covers electronic devices including smartwatches, wearable activity trackers, and wearable computers.5World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 9 A wristwatch is Class 14; a smartwatch is Class 9.
Other Classes Most Apparel Brands Add
Class 25 protects the mark as it appears on the clothing itself. It does not protect the mark as the name of the store, the website, or a design service. Two service classes come up over and over for apparel businesses.
Class 35 for Retail and Online Stores
Class 35 covers bringing goods together for customers to view and purchase, whether through physical retail stores, wholesale outlets, online shops, or mail-order catalogs. It also covers advertising, marketing, and promotional services.6World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 35 If you run your own e-commerce site or brick-and-mortar shop under the brand name, Class 35 is what protects the name in that role. Without it, someone could potentially use a confusingly similar name for their own clothing store even though your mark is registered on the clothing.
Class 42 for Fashion Design Services
Class 42 covers scientific and technological services including industrial design, and specifically includes dress designing.7World Intellectual Property Organization. Nice Classification – Class 42 It matters when you offer custom design or bespoke tailoring as a distinct service. The finished suit is Class 25. The service of designing and making it to a customer’s specifications is Class 42.
Filing Fees and Multi-Class Applications
You pay a filing fee for each class you include. A TEAS Plus application, which requires you to pick pre-approved product descriptions from the USPTO’s Identification Manual, costs $350 per class. A TEAS Standard application, which lets you write custom descriptions, costs $550 per class.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information Pre-approved descriptions tend to move through examination faster because the examining attorney does not have to review custom language, and the Identification Manual already contains descriptions that fit most apparel businesses.
When a brand spans more than one class, you can put them all into a single multi-class application covering the same mark across multiple categories.9United States Patent and Trademark Office. How to Satisfy the Requirements for a Multiple-Class Application or Multiple-Class Amendment to Allege Use You still submit a description of the goods or services for each class, and you still pay a filing fee for each class.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information
The math for a typical apparel brand filing Class 25 for clothing and Class 35 for retail services on TEAS Plus is $700. Add Class 18 for handbags and it becomes $1,050. Costs climb quickly, so be deliberate about which classes you actually need at filing versus which you can add later.
The upside of one multi-class application is administrative simplicity: one registration number, one renewal schedule, one set of maintenance filings. The downside is that a problem in one class can hold up the entire application. Some practitioners file separate applications for each class so that if one class runs into a specimen problem or a description dispute, the others keep moving. That trade-off gets more relevant the more classes you file in.
Use in Commerce or Intent to Use
Every application requires a filing basis telling the USPTO whether you are already using the mark or plan to use it soon.
Under Section 1(a), use in commerce, you are currently selling goods or providing services under the mark. You submit a specimen showing how the mark appears in actual commerce, along with dates of first use.10United States Patent and Trademark Office. Basis
Under Section 1(b), intent to use, you have a genuine intention to use the mark in commerce soon but have not started. You do not need a specimen at filing, but you must submit one before the mark can register.10United States Patent and Trademark Office. Basis Apparel designers use this basis often, because they want to lock in a name while still developing a first collection. Once the USPTO issues a Notice of Allowance, you have six months to file a Statement of Use showing the mark in commerce. You can request extensions in six-month increments up to 36 months total from the date the Notice of Allowance was issued.11eCFR. 37 CFR 2.89 – Extensions of Time for Filing a Statement of Use Each extension request carries its own fee.
Specimens and the Ornamental Refusal Problem
A specimen is a real-world example showing how your mark appears on or with the goods. For clothing, the USPTO accepts photos of sewn-in labels at the collar or waistband, hang tags attached to the garment, branded patches, and small logos on the breast or pocket area.12United States Patent and Trademark Office. Specimen Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal
Clothing marks run into a refusal that most other product categories rarely see: the ornamental refusal. The USPTO will refuse a specimen if the mark looks like decoration rather than a source identifier. A large graphic across the front of a t-shirt, a logo on a hat associated with an organization that did not manufacture the hat, and decorative stitching on jean pockets are examples the USPTO treats as ornamental rather than trademark use.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ornamental Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal The examining attorney looks at size, location, dominance, and overall significance of the mark on the garment.
If you receive an ornamental refusal, you can submit a substitute specimen showing proper trademark use such as a label or hang tag, amend to the Supplemental Register, provide evidence that consumers have come to associate the design with your brand through long use and advertising, or amend to an intent-to-use basis if you have not yet submitted a Statement of Use.13United States Patent and Trademark Office. Ornamental Refusal and How to Overcome This Refusal The easiest fix is prevention: submit a specimen showing the mark on a label or hang tag from the start, not just printed across the garment.
How Long Registration Takes
Registration typically takes 12 to 18 months from filing.14United States Patent and Trademark Office. How Long Does It Take to Register Intent-to-use applications stretch longer because you still have to file a Statement of Use after the mark is approved. Office actions, ornamental refusals, and oppositions from other trademark owners can add months on top of that.
Keeping the Registration Alive
Registration is not the last step. The USPTO requires ongoing maintenance filings to prove you are still using the mark, and missing a deadline cancels the registration with no path to reinstatement.
- Between years 5 and 6, file a Section 8 Declaration of Use showing the mark is still in use. The fee is $325 per class.15United States Patent and Trademark Office. Keeping Your Registration Alive8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information
- Between years 9 and 10, file a combined Section 8 Declaration of Use and Section 9 Renewal. The combined fee is $650 per class.15United States Patent and Trademark Office. Keeping Your Registration Alive8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information
- Every 10 years after that, file another combined Section 8 and Section 9 renewal at $650 per class.
Each window has a six-month grace period with a $100 per-class surcharge.8United States Patent and Trademark Office. Trademark Fee Information Miss the grace period and the registration is cancelled; you would have to file a new application from scratch. Because these fees are per class, a three-class registration costs $1,950 at each 10-year renewal. If you file across multiple classes, plan for those recurring costs from the start.