Computer programming falls in Class 42, tech & software services, and depending on what exactly you sell it can also fall in Class 9 or Class 16 or Class 41. Everything below is read from the USPTO's own list of accepted descriptions, not from an opinion about where it belongs.
Searching the USPTO Trademark ID Manual for computer programming returns 166 accepted descriptions, and most of them sit in Class 42. The manual is the list of identifications the office has already approved, so wording taken from it is pre-approved and settles the class at the same time.
The class follows from the identification you write, so "what class am I in" is really "what exactly do you sell". How the class system works covers the rest.
Software as a service (SaaS), app development, IT, design, or science and engineering services.
103 accepted descriptions in the manual mention computer programming. For example:
Software, apps, downloadable content, computers, or electronic devices.
54 accepted descriptions in the manual mention computer programming. For example:
Paper products, printed materials, books, or office and art supplies.
2 accepted descriptions in the manual mention computer programming. For example:
You teach, train, publish, coach, or provide entertainment, events, or media content.
2 accepted descriptions in the manual mention computer programming. For example:
Computer programming appears in 4 classes because what you make, what it is made of and the service of selling it are separate classes. Pick the descriptions above that match what you actually do.
Computer programming is a service, so it sits in Classes 35 to 45. Software that delivers a service is often Class 9 or Class 42 as well.
Technology and design services: software as a service and architectural design are here. Software the customer downloads is a good instead, so downloadable software is Class 9.
The class decides what a registration covers; it does not decide whether the name is available. Relatedness is judged on the identifications, so a conflict can sit in a class you never looked at: the same name in a different industry.
Check whether your name is clear for computer programming Searches the live USPTO register, including sound-alike and meaning-alike names. First search $2, then $5.Computer programming sits in Class 42, tech & software services. That is where the USPTO's own ID Manual puts it: 103 accepted descriptions mentioning computer programming fall in Class 42. Depending on exactly what you sell it can also fall in Class 9 or Class 16 or Class 41.
You file in every class you actually use the mark in, and the USPTO charges its fee per class. Selling a product and also running an online store for it is two classes, not one. Filing in classes you do not use is worse than filing in too few: an application has to be supported by real use or a genuine intent to use.
No. The class decides what a registration covers. Availability turns on whether someone already holds a similar mark for related goods, and relatedness is judged on what the identifications say rather than on the class number, so marks in different classes can still conflict.
Not what you sell? Search the class finder for your own wording, or browse all 45 classes.