Trademark class
What trademark class is marketplace in?
Marketplace falls in Class 35, retail, ads & business, and depending on what exactly you sell it can also fall in Class 9.
Everything below is read from the USPTO's own list of accepted descriptions, not from an opinion about where it belongs.
The short answer
Searching the USPTO Trademark ID Manual for marketplace returns 64 accepted descriptions, and
most of them sit in Class 35. 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.
You run a store, sell advertising or marketing, or provide business and office services.
56 accepted descriptions in the manual mention marketplace. For example:
- Operating on-line marketplaces featuring {indicate field or type of goods}
- Provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services
- Provision of an on-line marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods and services
- Providing a website featuring an online marketplace for exchanging goods and services with other users
- Providing an online marketplace featuring downloadable images files of apartments for use in virtual worlds
- Provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of digital files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital music authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Providing an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital videos authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable sound files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Providing an online marketplace for barter and exchange of goods and services among users via a global computer information network
- Provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital music authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Provision of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital videos authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
Software, apps, downloadable content, computers, or electronic devices.
8 accepted descriptions in the manual mention marketplace. For example:
- Downloadable computer software for managing electronic payment transactions for online marketplaces of goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable mobile applications for managing electronic payment transactions for online marketplaces of goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable computer software for creating and operating an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable mobile applications for creating and operating an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of goods authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable computer software for creating and operating an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of {specify type, e.g., image, music, video, etc.} files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable mobile applications for creating and operating an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of {specify type, e.g., image, music, video, etc.} files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable computer e-commerce software enabling users to perform electronic business transactions by means of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of {specify type, e.g., image, music, video, etc.} files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- Downloadable e-commerce software applications enabling users to perform electronic business transactions by means of an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of {specify type, e.g., image, music, video, etc.} files authenticated by non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
Marketplace appears in 2 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.
Marketplace 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.
Retail, advertising and business services: retail store services are here. The class covers the SERVICE of selling and never the goods sold, so a brand that makes what it sells needs the product class too.
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 marketplace
Searches the live USPTO register, including sound-alike and meaning-alike names. First search $2, then $5.
Other things in Class 35
Common questions
What trademark class is marketplace in?
Marketplace sits in Class 35, retail, ads & business. That is where the USPTO's own ID Manual puts it: 56 accepted descriptions mentioning marketplace fall in Class 35. Depending on exactly what you sell it can also fall in Class 9.
Do I have to file in more than one class?
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.
Does the class decide whether my name is available?
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.