Trademark class 40: materials processing
Class 40 covers treatment and transformation of materials for others: custom manufacturing, printing and 3D printing services, welding and metalwork, textile finishing, food preservation and recycling.
Updated
- Class
- 40
- Type
- Services
- Commonly confused with
- Classes 37, 42, 16, 43
What class 40 covers
Treatment of materials; recycling of waste and trash; air purification and treatment of water; printing services; food and drink preservation.
Print and embroidery shops, custom manufacturers and fabricators, metal finishers and welders, recyclers, and food processors working to customer order.
Classes confused with class 40
- Class 37, construction & repair: Repair vs transformation. Maintenance, repair and cleaning preserve an object as class 37 services; treating a material so its properties change, like dyeing cloth or plating metal, is class 40.
- Class 42, technology & science: Design work. Designing the product or file is class 42; producing or processing the physical thing is class 40.
- Class 16, paper & printed matter: The printed goods. Books, posters and other printed matter are class 16 goods; the act of printing them for a customer is class 40.
- Class 43, restaurants & lodging: Food presentation. Decorating and sculpting food for service is class 43; processing and preserving food, like milling or smoking, is class 40.
Classes filed alongside class 40
- Class 16, paper & printed matter: The printed products themselves.
- Class 25, clothing & footwear: Custom apparel sold alongside printing services.
- Class 42, technology & science: Design services feeding the production.
- Class 37, construction & repair: Repair and finishing work for the same clients.
Monitoring class 40 filings
Whatever classes your own mark is filed in, notolens scans all 45 Nice classes for conflicting filings rather than restricting monitoring to a selection. Trademark monitoring flags conflicting applications while they can still be opposed.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Printing shirts to a customer’s order is a class 40 service. The blank shirts themselves are class 25 goods, so custom apparel brands often file both.
Yes. 3D printing and custom manufacturing for others are class 40. The printers themselves are class 7 machines and the design software is class 9 or 42.
Class 40 changes the thing: custom manufacturing, treating, dyeing or transforming materials to order. Class 37 keeps it the same: repair, maintenance and restoration.
Related tools and resources
Trademark Class Finder
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How to Oppose a Trademark Application
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Ongoing brand monitoring
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