There is no formula that produces the right number of classes. The decision comes from balancing three variables:
- Use: in which fields do you actually use the mark today and in the near term?
- Risk: in which field would being unprotected genuinely hurt you?
- Cost: every additional class is an item that recurs every ten years.
In practice the right answer for most businesses lies between two and four classes. One class is usually too few; ten is usually waste. Below is how to place yourself.
The Price of Too Few Classes
When the scope is too narrow the problem is captured in one sentence: protection does not arise where you did not claim it.
The two scenarios seen most often:
- A manufacturer taking only class 35. A business having products made under its own brand and selling them, which takes only class 35 (retail), leaves use of the mark on the product unprotected. Someone else may register the same name in the goods class.
- A retailer taking only the goods class. The reverse also applies: taking only the goods class leaves your own retail service unprotected.
The scope cannot be widened afterwards. A new class requires a new application, which queues behind everything filed in the meantime — and if someone has taken the same name in that class during the gap, you are too late.
The Price of Too Many Classes
The "just in case" approach has three costs, two of which are easy to miss.
1. Application cost
Under the TÜRKPATENT schedule a single fee applies up to a certain number of classes, after which each additional class is charged separately. For current figures see Trademark Registration Fees.
2. Renewal cost — the recurring item
This is the most frequently overlooked. Protection runs for ten years and the renewal fee is also calculated on the number of classes covered. A class added unnecessarily today appears on the invoice every ten years for as long as the mark lives.
3. Revocation risk — the five-year use requirement
This is the most important legally. A mark not put to genuine use for the goods and services registered within five years of registration may be subject to a revocation request (Article 26).
The key point: revocation can be partial. If you use the mark in class 25 but not in class 42, it may be revoked as regards class 42. Unused classes are not "reserve protection" but a door left open for the future. See The Use Requirement and the Five-Year Rule.
4. Opposition risk
Every additional class raises the chance of clashing with existing marks there. An opposition arising from an unnecessary class delays the whole application.
Typical Structures by Business Type
| Business | Typical class count | Which classes |
|---|---|---|
| Single-service business (salon, course, restaurant) | 1–2 | Service class (+ 35 if franchising is planned) |
| Own-brand e-commerce seller | 2–3 | Goods class + 35 |
| Multi-brand store / reseller | 1 | 35 |
| Software / SaaS company | 1–2 | 42 (+ 9 if there is a downloadable product) |
| Manufacturer + own store + export | 3–4 | Goods class + 35 + 39/40 |
| Chain planning to franchise | 2–3 | Service class + 35 + 41 if training is given |
| Group with multiple brands | Separate structure per mark | Portfolio approach |
This table is a starting point rather than a prescription. To identify your own classes, follow the five-step method in How to Choose Trademark Classes.
The Decision Test: Three Questions per Class
Ask these of every class on your list. If you cannot answer "yes" to all three, remove it:
- Do I use the mark in this field today, or will I within the next two years? If not, you carry a revocation risk from the five-year use requirement.
- Would my business be harmed if someone took the same name in this field? If not, there is no need for protection.
- Is this class worth its ten-yearly renewal cost? If not, direct the budget to your core field.
If the Budget Is Limited
Where resources are constrained, follow this order:
- The field your revenue comes from. Whichever activity generates most of your turnover is the first priority.
- The surface where the mark meets the consumer. Where does the customer see it — on the product, on the sign, in the app?
- The field with the most competition. The class in which someone else is most likely to take the same name.
- Near-term expansion plans. Where the plan is concrete — not for vague possibilities.
Starting with one class and filing again as the business grows is a legitimate strategy too — provided you accept the loss of priority that the second application entails.
Scope Matters as Much as Count
A point often missed: getting the number right and the scope wrong produces the same result. What you select in the TÜRKPATENT list is in fact sub-groups; the class number alone expresses no scope.
In class 35 in particular, retail services form their own sub-group and do not fall within scope unless expressly claimed: Class 35: Retail and Store Services.
Consequences of getting it wrong, and how to correct them: What Happens If You Choose the Wrong Class?
Let Us Set the Number Together
Share your activity, revenue lines and two-year plan, and our trademark registration team will list which classes are essential, which optional and which unnecessary, with reasons.
Once the selection is settled, one step remains: a trademark availability search in those classes.