International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (NCL)

Aug 21, 2026

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These general remarks explain how indications of goods and services in class headings should be interpreted as broad references to the fields to which items generally belong. They direct users to consult the Alphabetical List to determine the exact classification for each individual product or service. When classification cannot be resolved using the List of Classes, Explanatory Notes, and the Alphabetical List, specific criteria apply for finished goods, multipurpose composite objects, raw materials, components forming part of another product, products made of multiple materials, and cases adapted to the product. Separate criteria are also provided for services.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages334

Reading Time14 h 2 min

AccessFree to download

General Remarks

Remarks about Goods

Remarks about Services

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| | General Remarks | | | | | The indications of goods or services appearing in the class headings are general indications relating to the fields to which, in principle, the goods or services belong. The Alphabetical List should therefore be consulted in order to ascertain the exact classification of each individual product or service.
Remarks about Goods:
If a product cannot be classified with the aid of the List of Classes, the Explanatory Notes and the Alphabetical List, the following remarks set forth the criteria to be applied:
a. A finished product is in principle classified according to its function or purpose. If the function or purpose of a finished product is not mentioned in any class heading, the finished product is classified by analogy with other comparable finished products, indicated in the Alphabetical List. If none is found, other subsidiary criteria, such as that of the material of which the product is made or its mode of operation, are applied.
b. A finished product which is a multipurpose composite object (e.g. , clocks incorporating radios) may be classified in all classes that correspond to any of its functions or intended purposes. However if a good has a primary purpose it should be classified in this class. If those functions or purposes are not mentioned in any class heading, other criteria, indicated under
(a), above, are to be applied.
c. Raw materials, unworked or semi-worked, are in principle classified according to the material of which they consist.
d. Goods intended to form part of another product are in principle classified in the same class as that product only in cases where the same type of goods cannot normally be used for another purpose. In all other cases, the criterion indicated under (a), above, applies.
e. When a product, whether finished or not, is classified according to the material of which it is made, and it is made of different materials, the product is in principle classified according to the material which predominates.
f. Cases adapted to the product they are intended to contain are in principle classified in the same class as the product.
Remarks about Services:
If a service cannot be classified with the aid of the List of Classes, the Explanatory Notes and the Alphabetical List, the following remarks set forth the criteria to be applied: | | The indications of goods or services appearing in the class headings are general indications relating to the fields to which, in principle, the goods or services belong. The Alphabetical List should therefore be consulted in order to ascertain the exact classification of each individual product or service.
Remarks about Goods:
If a product cannot be classified with the aid of the List of Classes, the Explanatory Notes and the Alphabetical List, the following remarks set forth the criteria to be applied:
a. A finished product is in principle classified according to its function or purpose. If the function or purpose of a finished product is not mentioned in any class heading, the finished product is classified by analogy with other comparable finished products, indicated in the Alphabetical List. If none is found, other subsidiary criteria, such as that of the material of which the product is made or its mode of operation, are applied.
b. A finished product which is a multipurpose composite object (e.g. , clocks incorporating radios) may be classified in all classes that correspond to any of its

FAQs

How should the indications in class headings be used?

They are general indications of the fields to which goods or services in principle belong, so the Alphabetical List should be consulted for exact classification of each product or service.

What criteria apply when a finished product’s function or purpose is not listed?

The product is classified by analogy with other comparable finished products indicated in the Alphabetical List; if none match, subsidiary criteria such as material or mode of operation are used.

How are multipurpose composite goods classified?

They may be classified in all classes corresponding to any of their functions or intended purposes, but if the good has a primary purpose it should be classified in that class; if those purposes are not mentioned, other criteria are applied.

Aug 21, 2026

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