Understanding trademark classification - Class 15 of the trademark manual

International classification for trademarks - Class 15: 

Trademark class 15 is one of 45 NICE classifications used to classify products and/or services.

Class 15 for trademarks a brief description: 

Class 15 includes mainly musical instruments, their parts, and their accessories.

Musical instruments are almost universal components of human culture; each culture has its musical instrument; it has been used since the earliest times for a variety of purposes, ranging from the entertainment of concert audiences to the accompaniment of dances, rituals, work, and medicine.

Moreover, it would not be an exaggeration to say that all of us have passed by musical instruments, either by using them or by listening to them.

Class 15 for trademarks header: 

Musical instruments: music stands and stands for musical instruments; conductors' batons.

Class 15 trademark application Owners:

• Gibson
• Harman Professional
• Shure
• Yamaha
• Fender Musical Instruments
• Steinway Musical Instruments
• Sennheiser
• K.H.S. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT CO., LTD.
• PT. YAMAHA MUSIC MANUFACTURING ASIA
• Roland Electronics (Suzhou) Co. LTD.

Trademark common confusion between class 15 and other classes:

All of the Musical instruments; music stands and stands for musical instruments are included in Class 15 but there are a few specific items that are related to the music but covered by other classes, these items include:

• Electric and electronic effects units for musical instruments, wah-wah pedals, audio interfaces, and audio mixers.
• Subwoofers  (Class 9)
• Downloadable music files  (Class 9)
• Jukeboxes, musical (Class 9)
• Metronomes (Class 9)
• Printed sheet music (Class 16)
• Musical greeting cards (Class 16)

Trademark Coordinated classes with class 15:

When thinking of the Class 15 trademark classification, one should keep in mind that the class has multiple overlapping products with goods from Class 9 and Services from Class 41 Therefore, this class is said to be a coordinated class with the highest risk of potential confusion. To ensure you are choosing the right class for your trademark before you protect under class 15 make sure to rule out all the coordinated classes.

Class 9 – jukeboxes, musical, downloadable electronic sheet music, metronomes, apparatus for the recording, transmission, amplification, and reproduction of sound, for example, electric and electronic effects units for musical instruments, wah-wah pedals, audio interfaces, audio mixers, equalizers being audio apparatus, subwoofers.

Class 41 - Arranging and Conducting Concerts, music composition services, production of music, and providing online music, not downloadable.

Changes in the nice classification relating to trademark goods on Class 15:

There were no changes to the goods in Class (15)

Trademark Class 15 and the Metaverse:

The Metaverse can be interpreted as an immersive online experience that uses virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology and hardware – in theory, a world of limitless imagination identical to reality. This means the presence of virtual products that are sold and bought to enhance the similarity of Metaverse to reality and thus the existence of trademarks for these products. However, since Metaverses are a platform that simulates video games, this means that if a company wants to expand its business within Metaverse now, it must register on the special classes related to software such as Class 9. Metaverse can revolutionize the world of music in general, and musical instrument companies should start taking advantage of this revolution, as concerts using VR glasses have already begun, it is no longer just an imagination or a vision of the future, but the future has become present.

Therefore, companies can expand by selling digital products that simulate real products using NFT technology, and in this case, they have to register, as we explained previously, in Class 9, as well as Classes 28 and 41.

In addition, perhaps soon, we will see a new classification or an increase in new classes to the current Nice classification, which includes digital products of all kinds.

Understanding the main elements of Class 15: 

The EUIPO, in collaboration with WIPO, has developed a hierarchy of goods and services within a class to link the different products and to make the classification process easier. The hierarchy does not have any legal effect in trademark examination or the comparison of goods and services: it was only created as an assistive tool.

Class 15 of the Nice classification is divided into the below sub-sections:

Class 15 in nice classification is divided into the subsections below:

Trademark Class 15 - Subsections 1 –

• Musical Instruments
• Keyboard Instruments
• String Instruments
• Woodwind Instruments
• Percussion Instruments
• Brass Instruments

Trademark Class 15 - Subsections 2 –

Musical Accessories