Which Class Are Cosmetics Brands Registered In?

The core class for cosmetics brands is class 3: cosmetics, perfumery, soaps, dental care products and cleaning preparations.

But in cosmetics the decisive criterion is not the formulation of the product but its claim. The same cream is assessed in class 3 if it says "moisturises" and in class 5 if it says "treats eczema".

Class Map by Product Type

Class 3 or Class 5? Where the Line Falls

This is the most critical decision for cosmetics brands, and it is directly connected to marketing language.

• Class 3: products for cleansing, care, protection, beautifying and adornment. Moisturisers, cleansers, make-up, perfume, shampoo.
• Class 5: products carrying therapeutic or medical claims; pharmaceuticals, medical preparations, food supplements, disinfectants.

Why does it matter? Because your communications drift over time. A product positioned today as a "moisturiser" may, in a few years, be marketed as an "acne treatment" — at which point your scope no longer matches your actual use.

For brands whose range sits on that boundary, covering both classes is a common approach. But remember that each additional class carries cost and the five-year use requirement: How Many Classes Should a Trademark Cover?

Typical Structures

An own-brand cosmetics label using contract manufacturing

3 + 35. Class 3 protects the product and class 35 your own sales channel. Using a contract manufacturer changes nothing — if the brand is yours, so is the need for the goods class.

A beauty salon with its own product range

44 + 3 (+ 35). The salon service is 44 and the product is 3. The frequent mistake is taking only 44, which leaves use of the mark on the product unprotected. For the salon side see Which Class Do Beauty Centres Fall Into?

A multi-brand cosmetics retailer

Class 35 alone. With no own product, no goods class is needed.

A supplements and wellness brand

5 (+ 3 if there are care products) + 35.

Risks Specific to Cosmetics

Distinctiveness

Sector terms carry no distinctiveness on their own: "Beauty", "Cosmetics", "Skin", "Derma", "Natural", "Organic", "Bio". They are stripped out in the similarity assessment and the comparison rests on the remaining core word.

Deceptiveness

A brand name cannot mislead the public as to the content or the effect of the product. Marks carrying an ingredient in their name that the product does not contain, or promising an effect that does not occur, may be refused on this ground. The full set of grounds: Why Are Trademark Applications Refused?

Geographical connotation

Using a French or Korean name for a product made in Türkiye is not an obstacle in itself; but if the name creates the impression that the product comes from a particular country and that is untrue, deceptiveness may arise.

The density of class 3

Class 3 is among the most heavily filed classes in Türkiye, which raises both the likelihood of a similar mark and the risk of opposition. A similar-mark search before filing is particularly critical in this sector.

Is Packaging Design a Trademark or a Design?

In cosmetics the packaging is the most visible face of the brand. But the shape of the packaging is, as a rule, the subject of design registration, while the name and logo on it belong to trademark registration.

Shapes that give substantial value to the goods, or that are necessary to obtain a technical result, cannot be protected as trademarks. The differences: Trademark, Patent, Design or Utility Model?

Let Us Define Your Scope

Share your product range, your claims and your sales channels, and our trademark registration team will assess the 3/5 distinction and the need for class 35 for your specific product.

The full list of classes: All 45 Trademark Classes.