In TÜRKPATENT's statistics, the same number has sat at the top of the list for years: Class 35. It's the class most often selected in a trademark application, the one most often subject to opposition, and at the same time the most commonly misunderstood. This article explains what Class 35 actually protects, who needs it, and why the assumption "I got Class 35, so everything is covered" is a dangerous one.
What Does Class 35 Cover?
Class 35 of the Nice Classification is the broadest of all the service classes. Think of it as four main blocks:
- Advertising and marketing: Advertising agency services, promotion, public relations, market research.
- Business management and consultancy: Business management, organisational consultancy, franchising services, import-export agency services.
- Office functions: Secretarial work, accounting, human resources, clerical and office support services.
- Retail / store operation: "Bringing together goods so that customers can conveniently view and purchase them" — in other words, operating a store, supermarket, showroom or e-commerce site.
That fourth block is the real reason Class 35 is so popular.
What Does "Retail Services" Actually Mean?
There's a fine but decisive distinction here: Class 35 does not protect the product you sell; it protects the act of selling itself.
Let's make it concrete. You've opened a sportswear store called "ATLAS SPOR." Two different scenarios:
- If you only sell other people's brands (a multi-brand store carrying Nike, Adidas, etc.): what you need is Class 35. The products aren't yours — the service you're offering is retail.
- If you sell t-shirts you manufacture under your own label: you need both Class 25 (clothing) and Class 35 (retail). Without Class 25, if someone starts manufacturing t-shirts labelled "ATLAS SPOR," you may be left with no effective basis to stop them.
Missing this distinction is one of the costliest mistakes in trademark registration. We cover the full logic of class selection in What Are Trademark Classes?
Three Example Scenarios
Scenario 1: A boutique cosmetics brand
A brand that has its own-formula creams manufactured and sells them both through its own website and to pharmacies. The right scope: Class 3 (cosmetic products) + Class 35 (offering cosmetic products for sale). If it had registered only Class 35, a competitor could print the same name on a cream tube, and stopping them would be far harder.
Scenario 2: A multi-brand electronics store
A chain that sells only well-known brands' phones and accessories. None of the products are its own. The right scope: Class 35, specifying "electronic devices" within the retail sub-group. Registering Class 9 here would be unnecessary — and since it would be a class the business never actually uses, it would carry a future risk of partial cancellation.
Scenario 3: An e-commerce company selling its own branded, contract-manufactured products
A company that has bags contract-manufactured and sells them under its own label on marketplaces. The right scope: Class 18 (bags) + Class 35 (online retail). This is also the scope that marketplace brand-protection programmes look for.
Who Should Register Class 35?
Class 35 is close to essential for the following types of business:
- Supermarkets, grocery stores, chain stores and showrooms
- E-commerce sites and marketplace sellers
- Advertising, digital marketing and public relations agencies
- Consultancy firms, accounting and HR agencies
- Chains that grant franchises (franchising services fall under Class 35)
- Import-export companies and foreign trade agents
For a fuller look at the e-commerce side, our article Trademark Registration for E-Commerce Sellers is a good starting point.
Marketplaces and Class 35
Platforms like Amazon, Trendyol and Hepsiburada require a registration certificate for admission to their brand protection programmes. The critical point here is that the registration needs to be aligned with the product category you actually sell. If you only present a Class 35 registration, some platforms will reject the application on the grounds that "your product category falls outside the scope."
That's why our standard advice to marketplace sellers is: register the product's own goods class together with Class 35. We've walked through the Amazon-specific process step by step in Trademark Registration for Amazon Brand Registry.
How Should the Class 35 Scope Be Worded?
For retail services, you're expected to specify which goods are being offered for sale. Leaving the phrase "bringing together of goods for sale" on its own creates two risks:
- Opposition risk: An overly broad scope attracts opposition from trademark owners in entirely different sectors. In a likelihood-of-confusion assessment, breadth of scope works against you.
- Non-use risk: Goods and services that are not put to genuine use within 5 years of registration can become subject to a cancellation request. Writing "all types of goods" into the scope while you actually only sell cosmetics becomes grounds for cancellation down the line.
The sound approach is to write a balanced scope that realistically reflects your current activity while also allowing for your growth plans.
Classes Commonly Confused with Class 35
| Need | Correct class | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Store / e-commerce operation | 35 | Sales service |
| Software, SaaS, platform development | 42 | Technical service |
| Shipping, warehousing, logistics | 39 | Transport |
| Restaurant, café, catering | 43 | Providing food and drink |
| Education, courses, seminars | 41 | Education and training |
| Financial services, insurance | 36 | Financial affairs |
If you operate a marketplace platform, registering both Class 35 (facilitating sales) and Class 42 (software platform) makes sense. Restaurant chains need Class 43 as their core class, adding Class 35 if they grant franchises — the detail is in our article Trademark Registration for Restaurants and Cafés.
The Cost Dimension
Under TÜRKPATENT's fee schedule, the first two classes are covered by the same base filing fee; an additional class fee only applies from the third class onward. That means the "35 + goods class" combination doesn't add an extra filing fee for most businesses compared with a single-class application — which makes registering two classes an economically sound choice as well.
For current figures and the full breakdown of costs, see our article Trademark Registration Fees in Turkey 2026.
There's one more line item that's easy to overlook when budgeting: protection doesn't end at registration. Trademark renewal is a recurring cost every 10 years, and the renewal fee also depends on how many classes you cover. An unnecessary class added today shows up on your renewal invoice a decade later too. The right way to decide on classes isn't "the more the better" — it's to look at your business plan over the next five years.
Is Your Brand Name Distinctive in Class 35?
A common ground for refusal in Class 35 is where the brand name directly describes the goods being sold. Phrases like "Furniture World" or "Cosmetics Market" can be refused as lacking distinctiveness for retail services. Adding a distinctive word or an original device element alongside the same phrase usually rescues the application. We've compiled the full list of refusal grounds in Why Are Trademark Applications Refused?
Always Research Before You File
Because Class 35 is such a crowded class, the odds of encountering a similar mark are high. A detailed similarity search carried out before filing lets you anticipate both the risk of refusal and any opposition that might follow publication in the bulletin. We explain the research methods in How to Do a Trademark Search.
There's a subtlety worth noting in Class 35 research: similarity assessment isn't based purely on the class number — it's based on sub-groups. Two marks that both sit in the retail services sub-group but sell different groups of goods are sometimes not considered similar, even within the same class. Conversely, there are decisions finding similarity by linking retail services in Class 35 to the goods' own class. That's why Class 35 research is a matter of judgment, not a mechanical list check.
Why Does Class 35 Attract So Much Opposition?
There are three structural reasons:
- The class is very crowded. Businesses from every sector sit in this class, so the chance of overlapping phrases is high.
- Scopes are written broadly. A broad scope brings you up against trademark owners from sectors far removed from your own.
- Related-class assessment. A Class 25 registration held by another party can become grounds to oppose your Class 35 clothing retail scope.
We've set out, step by step, what to do if you're faced with an opposition in How to File a Trademark Opposition.
Get Your Class Scope Right with Webx
Class selection is the most technical step in trademark registration, and the one with the biggest impact on the outcome. Too narrow a scope leaves you unprotected; too broad a scope invites refusal and cancellation risk.
Webx's trademark consultants analyse your business and build the full set of classes and sub-group wording you need, Class 35 included. Explore our trademark registration service or request a free class analysis.