Trademark Classes · Class 40
Class 40 covers the treatment and processing of materials, custom manufacturing, printing, and recycling. Here is what it includes, what it excludes, and how to word it.
Class 40 is a services class covering the treatment and processing of materials, and custom manufacturing for others. It includes material processing and finishing, custom and contract manufacturing, printing services, recycling and waste treatment, and energy production.
The theme is doing something to materials on behalf of others, transforming, processing, or manufacturing. It is distinct from selling the finished goods, which fall in their own classes. This page is part of our full guide to all 45 trademark classes, and to how protection works across jurisdictions in our overview of trademark law and protection.
Work out whether your product or service genuinely sits in Class 40 before you file, because a wrong class protects the wrong thing.
Contract and custom manufacturers, material-treatment and finishing services, commercial printers, recycling and waste-treatment businesses, and energy producers. If your service transforms, processes, or manufactures materials for others, Class 40 is very likely your class. Our trademark class search helps you check which classes fit before you file.
The most common Class 40 mistakes come from classifying by the wrong feature. These closely related items sit elsewhere:
If you sell the products you make, those are in their own goods class. Class 40 is the processing service for others.
Repairing existing items is Class 37; transforming or manufacturing materials is Class 40.
The Registry expects specific, standardised descriptions, not vague terms. Here are examples of clear, acceptable Class 40 wording:
| Instead of (vague) | Use (standardised) |
|---|---|
| “Manufacturing” | “Custom manufacturing services” · “Contract manufacturing” |
| “Printing” | “Printing services” · “Digital printing” |
| “Recycling” | “Recycling services” · “Treatment of waste” |
Each entry is specific and standardised. These are illustrative examples of acceptable phrasing, not legal advice for your filing; your exact wording should be drawn from the current NICE Classification and tailored to what your business actually does. Wording is a common cause of objections whether you file in India, the United States, Argentina, or elsewhere. For filing across several countries at once, see our global registration guide.
Class 40 covers the treatment and processing of materials and custom manufacturing for others. It includes material processing and finishing, contract and custom manufacturing, printing services, recycling and waste treatment, and energy production. The theme is transforming or processing materials on behalf of others, as distinct from selling finished goods, which fall in their own goods classes.
Contract and custom manufacturers, material-treatment and finishing services, commercial printers, recycling and waste-treatment businesses, and energy producers. If your service transforms, processes, or manufactures materials for others, Class 40 is likely your class.
Yes. Custom and contract manufacturing, making goods to order for others, is classified in Class 40, because it is treated as a material-processing service. If you also sell finished products under your own brand, those products fall in their own goods class, so a business may need Class 40 for its manufacturing service and a goods class for its own products.
Yes. Commercial and custom printing services are classified in Class 40, as a treatment or processing of materials. The printed products themselves, such as printed publications, are goods in Class 16, so a printing business providing a service files in Class 40.
Use specific, standardised terms such as custom manufacturing services, printing services, or recycling services, rather than vague words like processing. Draw wording from the current NICE Classification and tailor it to your services to reduce objection risk.
Whether you are protecting your brand in one market or several, we identify the classes you need and handle registration worldwide, worded to avoid an avoidable objection.
