Choosing the Right Trademark Class in the UAE: Why Proper Classification is Critical to Securing Effective Brand Protection

Selecting the correct trademark class is one of the most important decisions a business makes when seeking to protect its brand in the United Arab Emirates. Under UAE law, trademark protection is neither general nor automatic; it applies only to the specific class or classes of goods and services for which registration is granted.


An applicant who selects the wrong class, or registers within an unduly narrow scope, risks leaving the brand exposed precisely where protection is needed most. A sound understanding of the classification system, combined with a disciplined approach to aligning a business's actual activities with the appropriate classes, is therefore fundamental to an effective trademark filing strategy in the UAE.

The Legal Framework Governing Trademark Classification

Trademark classification in the UAE is governed by Federal Decree-Law No. 36 of 2021 on Trademarks, which came into force on January 2, 2022, replacing the earlier Federal Law No. 37 of 1992, together with its Executive Regulations issued under Cabinet Decision No. 57 of 2022. The law permits a single application to be filed for the registration of a trademark covering one or more categories of goods or services, in accordance with the Executive Regulations. It also clarifies that goods or services are not considered similar merely because they fall within the same class, nor are they regarded as different simply because they fall into separate classes determined by the Ministry. Administration of the trademark register rests with the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, which maintains the official register recording all trademarks, their owners, and the relevant goods or services.

The Nice Classification and its Recent Update

For trademark classification, the UAE adopts the Nice Classification, the international system established under the Nice Agreement of 1957 and administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Nice Classification comprises 45 classes, with Classes 1 to 34 covering goods and Classes 35 to 45 covering services, providing a uniform framework that enables trademark offices worldwide to classify and examine applications consistently.

The international classification system was recently updated. WIPO confirmed that the 13th edition of the Nice Classification came into effect on January 1, 2026, with new editions published every three years and annual amendments introduced between editions.

Following this international revision, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism adopted the updated edition for use in the UAE. The Ministry announced that the 13th edition of the Nice Classification became the mandatory classification system for trademark registration, with all new applications filed from January 27, 2026 onwards required to comply with the revised class structure. The Ministry has advised that selecting an incorrect or outdated class may result in office actions, delays or refusals, and has recommended that applicants carefully review their specifications against the updated classification. Applications filed before that date, together with existing registrations, continue to be assessed under the edition applicable at the time of filing and are not automatically reclassified.

Why Correct Classification Matters

The importance of correct classification follows directly from the structure of the law. Because the Decree-Law limits the scope of protection to the goods or services specified in the application, a trademark registered in one class provides no automatic rights over the use of an identical or similar mark in an unrelated class. A business whose commercial activities span multiple categories but registers in only one may discover that its legal remedies against infringement extend only to that single class, leaving related or complementary business activities without protection.

This has significant practical implications beyond the registration process itself. The scope of protection defined by the registered class is the basis upon which a rights holder relies when bringing infringement claims, opposing conflicting trademark applications or seeking the cancellation of competing registrations before the Ministry or the competent courts.

Identifying the Correct Class

Identifying the appropriate class or classes requires applicants to look beyond the wording of their trade licence and instead examine the goods they actually sell or the services they genuinely provide. A business licensed broadly for information technology services, for example, may in reality market software products, provide software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms and separately offer consultancy or training services, each of which may fall within different classes or require protection across multiple classes.

Businesses should also consider their anticipated future expansion. Extending trademark protection after registration generally requires a fresh application, payment of additional fees and a new examination process, during which the expanded business activities remain unprotected. The Executive Regulations, together with the Ministry's published Nice Classification guidance, remain the authoritative references for determining the correct classification of goods and services. Reliance on outdated class lists is particularly discouraged now that the 13th edition governs all new filings.

Multi-Class Protection

Multi-class protection is expressly recognised under UAE law and, in practice, is essential for many businesses whose operations extend beyond a single category. A clothing manufacturer that also operates retail outlets, for instance, will generally require protection in both the class covering apparel and the class covering retail services. Likewise, a technology company that develops software while also providing consultancy services will typically require separate classes for each activity. A restaurant selling branded packaged food products for retail purchase may similarly need protection under both a services class and a goods class.

As official fees under the Ministry's schedule are charged on a per-class basis, filing across multiple classes inevitably increases the initial registration cost. However, this expense should be weighed against the considerably greater financial, commercial and legal risks that arise when businesses later discover that key aspects of their operations were never adequately protected.

Common Errors in Class Selection

Several mistakes continue to arise frequently during the trademark registration process:

• Classifying a trademark according to the activities listed on the trade licence rather than the goods or services actually offered to customers.
  
  
• Filing in a single class where the business clearly operates across several categories.
  
  
• Using specifications that are excessively broad or insufficiently precise, increasing the likelihood of objections during examination.
  
  
• Overlooking reasonably foreseeable business expansion when preparing the initial application.
  
  
• Assuming that registering a trade name with a Department of Economic Development or a free zone authority automatically provides trademark protection. It does not. Company registration and trademark registration operate under entirely separate legal frameworks, administered by different authorities, and one cannot substitute for the other.
  
  

Consequences of Choosing the Wrong Class

Selecting the wrong trademark class can have consequences that extend well beyond procedural delays. The Ministry may issue an objection or refuse the application during examination, requiring amendments or a fresh filing. Even where registration is granted, if the trademark is registered in a class that does not accurately reflect the owner's actual goods or services, the owner's ability to prevent third parties from using a similar mark in the class that truly matters to the business may be significantly restricted.

Correcting an incorrect classification generally requires filing a new application in the appropriate class, paying fresh official fees and undergoing another examination process. Throughout this period, the business remains without effective trademark protection for those goods or services.

Correct trademark classification is therefore far more than a procedural requirement. It defines, in precise legal terms, the scope of protection that a registered trademark provides — and equally, what it does not protect. Careful consideration at the filing stage remains one of the most effective safeguards a business can adopt to build a robust and commercially effective brand protection strategy in the UAE.

 

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