The House of Mouse is at it Again

And boy have they been busy bees...or er, mice? Disney filed 10 applications on June 24th for Mickey By... for a whole mess of products: toys, clothing, textiles, linens, fabrics, housewares, furniture, pillows, photo frames, bags, backpacks, luggage, books, publications, printed materials, jewelry, audio & video recordings, video games, cosmetics, fragrances. PHEW!

Trademark International Class: Class 25 (Clothing)

All goods or services are categorized within International Classes (IC hereafter). Goods run from classes IC 1-34, while Services are in IC 35-45. Please see a complete chart here. Let's take a closer look at one of these trademark classes – class 25.

What is International Class 25 All About?

Each class has a short title heading that gives a snapshot of what that class is all about -- IC 25's short title is clothing. But, as with anything trademark, there's more to it than that. The USPTO has 887 accepted descriptions that fit into IC 25; check them out here.

IC 25 is pretty straightforward in that clothing of virtually any type you can think of is going to be here. The exceptions are clothing that's of a protective nature (e.g. bulletproof vests, clothing worn by motorcyclists for protection against injury), which, oddly enough, is in IC 9

How do I File in IC 25?

Filing in IC 25 is a bit different from other goods classes in terms of the required specimen. When it comes to clothing, the best thing to send to the USPTO is either a tag or a label. This makes it clear that the name and/or logo is being used for a clothing line. Your specimen can be a tag that's attached to the garment, such as a hang tag, or it can be a tag that's sewn into the garment.

The USPTO will no longer accept a picture of, for instance, a t-shirt with the name appearing only on the front. Those days are over. The USPTO considers this ornamental as it's "conveying a message rather than indicating the source of the goods."

What Else is in International Class 25?

Seems like with any of these trademark classes, there always seems to be the oddball item or two and IC 25 is no exception. Here are a few items living in IC 25 that seem a bit off:

• gift packages sold as a unit consisting primarily of a sweatshirt and also including a photo frame, a coffee mug, and a tote bag
• race number belts that hold a paper number on the race participant's front or back during competition
• undergarment accessories, namely, removable silicone buttock enhancer pads

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Trademark International Class: Class 20 (Furniture and articles not otherwise classified)

All goods or services are categorized within International Classes (IC hereafter). Goods run from classes IC 1-34, while Services are in IC 35-45. Please see a complete chart here. Let's take a closer look at one of these trademark classes – class 20.

What is International Class 20 All About?

Each class has a short title heading that gives a snapshot of what that class is all about -- IC 20's short title is furniture and articles not otherwise classified. Well, that's vague. The USPTO has 894 accepted descriptions that fit into IC 20; check them out here.

Furniture of all sorts (excepting toy furniture) is in IC 20. This includes many of the related accessories for furniture such as shoe racks, curtain rings & rods, mattresses & pillows, etc. Also included is a long list of non-metal objects such as handles, hooks, bolts, latches, hinges, etc. If any of those items are made of metal, that's going to be in IC 6.

What Else is in International Class 20?

Seems like with any of these trademark classes, there always seems to be the oddball item or two and IC 20 is no exception. Here are a few items living in IC 20 that seem a bit weird:

• animal parts such as claws, antlers, horns and teeth
• caskets
• decorative items such as glitter, plastic decoys, mobiles
• foam toe separators for use in pedicures

What's New for International Class 20?

The classification guide is constantly being updated with new goods or services. As the marketplace changes, the trademark office must adapt. Here are some of the 2009 listings for international class 20, good plus date added to the guide:

• Free-standing portable gun racks 14 May 09
• Life-size forms of the human body to display clothes 21 May 09
• Magnetized photo frames 19 Mar 09
• Statues of bone, ivory or plaster 21 May 09

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Trademark International Class: Class 18 (Leather goods)

All goods or services are categorized within International Classes (IC hereafter). Goods run from classes IC 1-34, while Services are in IC 35-45. Please see a complete chart here. Let's take a closer look at one of these trademark classes – class 18.

What is International Class 18 All About?

Each class has a short title heading that gives a snapshot of what that class is all about -- IC 18's short title is leather goods. But, as with anything trademark, there's more to it than that. The USPTO has 447 accepted descriptions that fit into IC 18; check them out here.

The short title, leather goods, is a bit misleading as there are a number of items that aren't made of leather that reside in this class. Bags, purses, backpacks, wallets, luggage, etc. are all classified in IC 18 regardless if made of leather or not. There are a few exceptions such as paper bags (IC 16), cloth bags for laundry or storage (IC 22), bags for carrying sports equipment such as bowling bags, golf bags (IC 28).

What Else is in International Class 18?

Seems like with any of these trademark classes, there always seems to be the oddball item or two and IC 18 is no exception. Here are a few items living in IC 18 that seem a bit off:

• artificial fur
• wading staff
• bitter tasting pet training aid in the form of a spray to prevent pets from licking, chewing and biting on objects
• alpenstock

What's New for International Class 18?

The classification guide is constantly being updated with new goods or services. As the marketplace changes, the trademark office must adapt. Here are some of the 2009 listings for international class 18, good plus date added to the guide:

• All-purpose reusable carrying bags 26 Mar 09
• Carriers for suits, shirts and dresses 02 Jul 09
• Dry bags 02 Apr 09
• Pet products, namely, pet restraining devices consisting of leashes, collars, harnesses, restraining straps, and leashes with locking devices 4 Jun 09

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Trademark International Class: Class 16 (Paper goods and printed matter)

All goods or services are categorized within International Classes (IC hereafter). Goods run from classes IC 1-34, while Services are in IC 35-45. Please see a complete chart here. Let's take a closer look at one of these trademark classes – class 16.

What is International Class 16 All About?

Each class has a short title heading that gives a snapshot of what that class is all about -- IC 16's short title is paper goods and printed matter. But, as with anything trademark, there's more to it than that. The USPTO has 1515 accepted descriptions that fit into IC 16; check them out here.

Anything that's made of paper or is printed is in IC 16, which includes things like posters, journals, greeting cards, art prints, magazines, books, calendars and on and on.

What about Book Titles?

This is an area worth exploring a bit. Titles of a single creative work are not protected by trademark law; however, trademark registration may be possible if the title is used on a series of creative works. Let's delve into this a bit further.

Single creative works consist of materials where the content does not change, such as a book, a DVD, downloadable songs and a film. Single creative works do not include periodically issued publications, such as magazines, newsletters, brochures, comic books, comic strips or printed classroom materials, because the content of these works change with each issue.

When it comes to titles for a book series, the rationale is the same. While the title stays the same, the content changes. Take a look at the filing for Ring of Fates, part of The Final Fantasy catalog: "a series of books featuring fictional stories and/or fantasy stories."

What Else is in International Class 16?

Seems like with any of these trademark classes, there always seems to be the oddball item or two and IC 16 is no exception. Here are a few items living in IC 16 that seem to be a bit off kilter:

• cd shredders for home or office use
• globes
• cosmetic pencil sharpeners and removing paper
• money clips

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Trademark International Class: Class 14 (Jewelry)

All goods or services are categorized within International Classes (IC hereafter). Goods run from classes IC 1-34, while Services are in IC 35-45. Please see a complete chart here. Let's take a closer look at one of these trademark classes – class 14.

What is International Class 14 All About?

Each class has a short title heading that gives a snapshot of what that class is all about -- IC 14's short title is jewelry. Seems pretty straightforward, right? But, as with anything trademark, there's more to it than that. The USPTO has 288 accepted descriptions that fit into IC 14; check them out here. Any jewelry item you could possibly think of belongs in this class, such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings, anklets and watches. Also included is jewelry for your pet.

What Else is in International Class 14?

Seems like with any of these trademark classes, there always seems to be the oddball item or two and IC 14 is no exception. Here are a few items living in IC 14 that while connected to jewelry are not necessarily jewelry itself:

• precious metals and stones, such as gold, silver, opals, agate, topaz, peridot, etc.
• clocks be they alarm, for the car or incorporating a radio
• collectible coins
• jewelry boxes, cases, organizers as well as jewelry making kits

What's New for International Class 14?

The classification guide is constantly being updated with new goods or services. As the marketplace changes, the trademark office must adapt. Here are some of the 2009 listings for international class 14, good plus date added to the guide:

• Threads of precious metal 25 Jun 09
• Commemorative medals 18 Jun 09
• Statues of precious metal 21 May 09
• Jewelry incorporating a computer storage device containing medical information for medical alert purposes 5 Mar 09
• Cuff links of precious metal 8 Jan 09

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Trademark International Class: Class 9 (Electrical and Scientific Apparatus)

All goods or services are categorized within International Classes (IC hereafter). Goods run from classes IC 1-34, while Services are in IC 35-45. Please see a complete chart here. Let's take a closer look at one of these trademark classes – class 9.

What is International Class 9 All About?

Each class has a short title heading that gives a snapshot of what that class is all about -- IC 9's short title is electrical and scientific apparatus. But, as with anything trademark, there's more to it than that. The USPTO has 3107 accepted descriptions that fit into IC 9; check them out here.

This class encompasses nearly any tangible goods that are scientific, nautical, surveying, electric, photographic, cinematographer, optical, weighing, measuring, signaling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus.

PHEW! Let's break that down a bit. Here are some of the more often used descriptions for International Class 9:

Software of all kinds.
Video games, which also include the peripherals such as joysticks, players, interactive floor pads and interactive remote controls as well as what used to be considered a service – providing online video games.
CDs, DVDs, audiocassettes, records, whether blank or filled with content, as well as the devices used to play them.
Computer peripherals such as mice, keyboards, printers, and monitors as well as virtually any good related to the telephone, the television or the camera.

What Else is in International Class 9?

Seems like with any of these trademark classes, there always seems to be the oddball item or two and IC 9 is no exception. Here are a few items living in IC 9 that seem to be a weird fit:

• sun glasses, eye glasses and pince-nez
• protective clothing
• dog whistles
• helmets

What's New for International Class 9?

The classification guide is constantly being updated with new goods or services. As the marketplace changes, the trademark office must adapt. Here are some of the 2009 listings for international class 9, good plus date added to the guide:

• Graduated rulers for office and stationery 25 Jun 09
• Hands free devices for mobile-phones 18 Jun 09
• Holders for magnetically encoded gift cards 02 Apr 09
• Life vests 26 Mar 09
• Articles of protective clothing for wear by motorcyclists for protection against accident or injury 5 Feb 09
• Digital music system that synchronizes digital music files stored on a home unit and a car unit 15 Jan 09

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