Deciphering Class 29 of Nice classification for trademarks:
Trademark Class 29 is one of 45 Nice Classifications used to identify and classify products and/or services for the purpose of trademark registration.
Class 29 for trademarks a brief description:
To ensure you have the utmost and relevant brand protection, you should carefully consider the product your brand is used on and map that to the accurate class used in trademark protection.
As Class 29 is closely related to other classes caution should be practiced when selecting Class 29. When a product offering, such as chips, falls into two categories, it is sometimes recommended to register a trademark on two classes.
Class 29 for trademarks header:
The Nice Class Headings describe in very broad terms the nature of the goods or services contained in each class. The Class 29 class header includes meat, fish, poultry, and game; meat extracts; preserved, frozen, dried, and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs; milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and other milk products; oils and fats for food.
Famous brands protected on Class 29:
Tyson Foods, Inc
Cargill Meat Solutions
JBS S.A
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Sysco Corp.
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
Hormel Foods Corp.
National Beef Packing Co., L.L.C.
Keystone Foods, L.L.C.
Cargill
Trademark Class 29 includes, in particular:
Meat, fish, fruit, or vegetable-based foods;
Edible insects;
Milk beverages with milk predominating;
Milk substitutes, for example, almond milk, coconut milk, peanut milk, rice milk, and soya milk;
Preserved mushrooms;
Pulses and nuts prepared for human consumption;
Seeds prepared for human consumption, not being seasonings or flavorings.
This Class does not include, in particular:
Oils and fats, other than for food, for example, essential oils, industrial oil, and castor oil for medical purposes;
Baby food;
Dietetic food and substances adapted for medical use;
Dietary supplements;
Salad dressings;
Processed seeds for use as a seasoning;
Chocolate-coated nuts;
Fresh and unprocessed fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds;
Foodstuffs for animals;
Live animals;
Seeds for planting.
Trademark classes which are coordinated and similar to Class 29:
When assessing the Class 29 trademark classification, one should keep in mind that this class has multiple overlapping products with goods from classes 3, 5, 30, 35, and 31. Therefore, these classes are said to be coordinated classes with the highest risk of potential confusion. To ensure you are choosing the accurate class for your trademark before you protect under Class 29, make sure to rule out all the coordinated classes -
Trademark Class 3 – Non-medicated cosmetics and toiletry preparations; non-medicated dentifrices; perfumery, essential oils; bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring, and abrasive preparations, deodorants for human beings or animals.
Trademark Class 5 – Pharmaceuticals, medical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietetic food and substances adapted for medical or veterinary use, food for babies; dietary supplements for human beings and animals; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides.
Trademark Class 30 – Coffee, tea, cocoa, and artificial coffee; rice, pasta, and noodles; tapioca and sago; flour and preparations made from cereals; Bread, pastries, and confectionery; chocolate; ice cream, sorbets, and other edible ices; Sugar, honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt, seasonings, spices, preserved herbs; vinegar, sauces, and other condiments; ice (frozen water).
Trademark Class 31 – Raw and unprocessed agricultural, aquacultural, horticultural, and forestry products; raw and unprocessed grains and seeds; fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs; Natural plants and flowers; bulbs, seedlings, and seeds for planting; live animals; foodstuffs and beverages for animals; malt.
Trademark Class 35 – The bringing together, for the benefit of others, of a variety of goods, excluding the transport thereof, enabling customers to conveniently view and purchase these goods; such services may be provided by retail stores, wholesale outlets, through vending machines, mail order catalogs or through electronic media, for example, through web sites or television shopping programs;
Changes in the Nice Classification relating to trademark goods on Class 29
Under the 11th edition of the Nice Classification, goods identified as "milk" or "milk-based beverages" must be classified in Class 29. This class is used regardless of whether milk is used as a beverage or whether it is used for culinary purposes.
Milk substitutes were added to the Nice classification in Class 29. These products are replacements for animal milk and include, for example, "coconut milk" and "oat milk." "Milk substitutes" is an acceptable identification without further specification. The identification may indicate the particular type of milk substitute, but it is not required.
Trademark Class 29 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 the metaverse to reality and thus the existence of trademarks for these products. Therefore, we may see in the near future the registration of trademarks, in general, to include use in the virtual world in all classes, including Class 29.
Understanding the main elements of Class 29:
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 has no legal effect in trademark examination or the comparison of goods and services; it was only created as an assistive tool.
Class 29 in Nice Classification is categorized into the subsections below:
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 1 -
Meats
Meat Spreads
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 2 -
Fish, Seafood, and Molluscs
Fish and Seafood spread
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 3-
Dairy Products and Dairy Substitutes
Cheese
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 4 -
Beards Eggs and Egg Products
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 5 -
Oils and Fats
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 6 -
Processed Fruits, Fungi, and Vegetables (Includes Nuts and Pulses)
Jellies, Jams, Compotes, Fruit, and Vegetable spreads
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 7 -
Soups and Stocks, Meat Extract
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 8 -
Prepared Insects and Larvae
Trademark Class 29 - Subsection - 9 -
Sausages, skins, and imitations thereof