Trademark class
What trademark class is restaurant in?
Restaurant falls in Class 43, restaurants & hotels, and depending on what exactly you sell it can also fall in Class 35 or Class 9 or Class 41.
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 restaurant returns 129 accepted descriptions, and
most of them sit in Class 43. 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 serve food or drinks or provide lodging — a restaurant, cafe, bar, or hotel.
82 accepted descriptions in the manual mention restaurant. For example:
- Restaurants
- Brunch restaurants
- Restaurant services
- Breakfast restaurants
- Ramen restaurant services
- Sushi restaurant services
- Reservation of restaurants
- Mobile restaurant services
- Pop-up restaurant services
- French restaurant services
- Tempura restaurant services
- Washoku restaurant services
- Restaurant and café services
- Japanese restaurant services
You run a store, sell advertising or marketing, or provide business and office services.
19 accepted descriptions in the manual mention restaurant. For example:
- Restaurant management for others
- Online ordering services in the field of restaurant take-out and delivery
- On-line ordering services in the field of restaurant take-out and delivery
- Promoting and advertising restaurant services for others in virtual environments
- Providing online consumer information concerning the location of mobile restaurants
- Providing on-line consumer information concerning the location of mobile restaurants
- Billing services in the field of {specify, e.g., healthcare, restaurants, energy, etc.}
- Providing online web directory services featuring hyperlinks to the websites of restaurants
Software, apps, downloadable content, computers, or electronic devices.
9 accepted descriptions in the manual mention restaurant. For example:
- Humanoid robots with artificial intelligence for taking customer orders, serving and collecting dishes in restaurants
- Humanoid robots with artificial intelligence (AI) for taking customer orders, serving and collecting dishes in restaurants
- Recorded software for {specify the function of software, e.g., managing bank accounts, editing photos, making restaurant reservations, etc. and, if software is content- or field- specific, the content or field of use}
- Downloadable software for {specify the function of software, e.g., managing bank accounts, editing photos, making restaurant reservations, etc. and, if software is content- or field- specific, the content or field of use}
- Downloadable mobile applications for {indicate function of software, e.g., managing bank accounts, editing photos, making restaurant reservations, etc. and, if software is content- or field-specific, the content or field of use}
- Downloadable tablet applications for {indicate function of software, e.g., managing bank accounts, editing photos, making restaurant reservations, etc., and, if software is content- or field-specific, the content or field of use}
- Downloadable computer software for tablets for {indicate function of software, e.g., managing bank accounts, editing photos, making restaurant reservations, etc., and, if software is content- or field-specific, the content or field of use}
- Downloadable computer software applications for {indicate function of software, e.g., managing bank accounts, editing photos, making restaurant reservations, etc. and, if software is content- or field-specific, the content or field of use}
You teach, train, publish, coach, or provide entertainment, events, or media content.
5 accepted descriptions in the manual mention restaurant. For example:
- Simulated restaurant services provided in virtual environments for entertainment purposes
- Providing an online weekly column in the field of {indicate subject matter, e.g., government policy, local restaurants, etc.}
- Providing an online monthly column in the field of {indicate subject matter, e.g., government policy, local restaurants, etc.}
- Virtual restaurant services in the nature of simulated restaurant services provided in virtual environments for entertainment purposes
- Providing a website that displays rankings of {specify type of rankings, e.g., the popularity of social happenings, restaurants and nightlife} based on social media for entertainment purposes
Restaurant 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.
Restaurant 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.
Restaurants, catering and lodging: restaurant services, catering and hotel accommodation are here. The food itself is a good in its own class, so bread is Class 30 and cheese is Class 29.
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 restaurant
Searches the live USPTO register, including sound-alike and meaning-alike names. First search $2, then $5.
Other things in Class 43
Common questions
What trademark class is restaurant in?
Restaurant sits in Class 43, restaurants & hotels. That is where the USPTO's own ID Manual puts it: 82 accepted descriptions mentioning restaurant fall in Class 43. Depending on exactly what you sell it can also fall in Class 35 or Class 9 or Class 41.
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.