Trademark Class 28: Toys and Sporting Goods

Trademark Class 28 is broad and includes games, playthings, and sporting articles. The class also includes decorations for Christmas trees, amusement park rides, and hunting and fishing equipment.

What Goods Are Included Under Trademark Class 28?

The following is a more comprehensive list of Class 28 goods:

• Baseball bats, ice skates, skateboards, archery implements, ascenders being mountaineering equipment, bags especially designed for skis and surfboards, baseball gloves, batting gloves, billiard cues, billiard cue tips, billiard tables, bladders of balls for games, bobsleighs, body boards, bodybuilding apparatus, bodytraining apparatus, bowling apparatus and machinery, bows for archery, boxing gloves, chest expanders, clay pigeon traps, clay pigeons, climbers' harness, coin-operated billiard tables, cricket bags, discuses for sports, golf divot repair tools, dumbbells, barbells, edges of skis, elbow guards for athletic use, electronic targets, fencing weapons, fencing masks, fencing gauntlets, fencing gloves, golf clubs, golf bags, golf gloves, gut for tennis rackets, appliances for gymnastics, hang gliders, harness for sailboards, hockey sticks, inline roller skates, knee guards for athletic use, masts for sailboards, men's athletic supporters [sports articles], nets for sports, paintball guns, paintballs, paragliders, manually-operated exercise equipment for physical fitness purposes, poles for pole vaulting, protective padding for skateboarding, punching bags, tennis rackets, bats for games, roller skates, rollers for stationary exercise bicycles, rosin used by athletes, sailboards, seal skins, shin guards for athletic use, shuttlecocks, skating boots with skates attached, ski bindings, skis, sleighs, sling shots being sports articles, snowboards, snowshoes, sole coverings for skis, spring boards being sports articles, starting blocks for track sports, stationary exercise bicycles, strings for rackets, surf boards, surf skis, surfboard leashes, tables for table tennis, archery targets, tennis nets, tennis ball throwing apparatus, trampolines, water skis, and weight lifting belts.
• Scent lures for hunting and fishing, artificial fishing bait, bite indicators [fishing tackle], bite sensors [fishing tackle], butterfly nets, camouflage screens for hunting purposes, fishing creels, decoys for hunting or fishing, lures for hunting or fishing, fish hooks, fishing tackle, floats for fishing, gut for fishing, spearfishing harpoon guns, hunting game calls, landing nets for anglers, lines for fishing, reels for fishing, and rods for fishing.
• Arm floats for swimming, flippers for swimming, swimming gloves, swimming jackets, swimming belts, swimming kickboards, racing lanes, and starting blocks.
• Artificial Christmas trees, bells for Christmas trees, candle holders for Christmas trees, ornament hooks, Christmas tree stands, artificial snow for Christmas trees, and Christmas stockings.
• Playground sandboxes, climbing units, playground slides, swing sets, amusement park rides, ride-on game machines, and spring riders.
• Board games, playing cards, plush toys, toy air pistols, backgammon games, balls for games, bingo cards, toy building blocks, building games, caps for toy pistols, chalk for billiard cues, chess games, chessboards, chips for gambling, confetti, costume masks, counters and marbles for games, cups for dice, darts, dice, dolls, dolls' feeding bottles, doll houses, dolls' rooms, dolls' beds, dolls' clothes, dominoes, draughtboards, checkers, draughts sets, flying discs, gaming machines for gambling, horseshoe games, jigsaw puzzles, kaleidoscopes, kite reels, kites, mah-jong, marbles for games, toy mobiles, novelty toys for playing jokes, party favors in the nature of small toys, pachinkos, paper party hats, parlor games, percussion caps being toys, detonating caps, piñatas, play balloons, play balls, puppets, marionettes, quoits, radio-controlled toy vehicles, baby rattles, ring games, rocking horses, roulette wheels, scale-model vehicles, scale model kits, scooters, scratch cards for playing lottery games, skittles, ninepins, slot machines, snow globes, bubble-making wands, spinning tops, stuffed toys, play swimming pools, tables for indoor football, teddy bears, theatrical masks, toy pistols, toy masks, toy vehicles, toys for domestic pets, twirling batons, water wings, and swimming pool air floats.
• Video game consoles, arcade video game machines, controllers for game consoles, portable games with liquid crystal displays, home video game machines, video game machines for use with televisions, handheld consoles for playing video games, and video gaming consoles for playing computer games.

What Goods Aren't Included Under Class 28?

But Class 28 isn't as sweeping as you might expect. Specifically, you would not use Class 28 if you're applying for:

• Christmas tree candles (Class 4 - Lubricants and Fuels)
• diving equipment (Class 9 - Electrical and Scientific Apparatus)
• electrical lights for Christmas trees (Class 11 - Environmental Control Apparatus)
• fishing nets (Class 22 - Cordage and Fibers)
• sports clothing (Class 25 - Clothing), and
• confectionery for decorating Christmas trees (Class 30 - Staple Foods).

Examples of Trademarks in Class 28

You can find trademarks that have been applied for or registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under Class 28 in the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS), an electronic trademark database.

Some well-known examples of Class 28 marks include:

• BARBIE (dolls and their clothing and accessories)
• RAWLINGS (baseballs, baseball equipment), and
• NINTENDO (video game machines and equipment).

USPTO Trademark Classes

The USPTO, the federal agency that oversees the registration of federal trademarks, divides marks into 45 different classes of products and services. The purpose of these classes is to allow different types of businesses to register their trademarks into categories most related to their core business.

The first 34 classes consist of different broad categories of goods. The last 11 classes consist of different broad categories of services.

Related or Coordinated Classes to Class 28

If you're not sure whether you should apply for your mark under Class 28, you can consider a "coordinated" class. A coordinated class is one that's related to another class, usually because the USPTO has determined that applicants filing within one particular class often file in other specific classes, too.

For Class 28, the USPTO has determined the following classes to be coordinated classes:

• Class 9 - Electrical and Scientific Apparatus
• Class 16 - Paper Goods and Printed Matter
• Class 20 - Furniture and Articles Not Otherwise Classified
• Class 25 - Clothing
• Class 35 - Advertising and Business Services
• Class 41 - Education and Entertainment Services, and
• Class 42 - Computer and Scientific Services.

Trademark Filing Fees

The trademark class system will also affect the scope of the registration fees that you pay. The USPTO charges a set filing fee per class of goods or services. So, if you apply for a trademark for posters (Class 16) and shirts (Class 25), you must pay the filing fee for two classes, which is double the filing fee for one class. (37 C.F.R. §2.6(a)(1)(2022).)

Be sure to indicate the correct class at the time you're registering a trademark—if the application doesn't already do so for you. If you list the incorrect class, you must restart the application process, and your filing fees will not be refunded.

Your registration is restricted to those classes that encompass the goods or services you're already offering (as shown by the specimens you submit) or that you plan to offer (if you're registering on an intent-to-use basis).

USPTO Specimens

At some point in the trademark application process, you'll need to supply the USPTO with a specimen. A specimen is a real-world example of how your mark is being used in association with your goods or services. In other words, it's how customers come across your mark as they shop for your goods or services.

If you're applying for a use-in-commerce trademark (you're already using your trademark to sell your goods or services), then you'll submit a specimen with your trademark application. If you're applying for an intent-to-use trademark (you haven't started using your trademark yet but plan to), then you'll submit a specimen after you've already submitted your trademark application once the trademark examiner—the person at the USPTO reviewing your application—requests it from you.

For every class of goods or services, you'll need to submit at least one specimen regardless of how many goods or services are listed under the class. So, if you apply for hats, t-shirts, and socks under Class 25, then you'll only need to submit one specimen and you can choose which good to include in your specimen.

(37 C.F.R. §2.34(b)(2)(2022).)

Acceptable Specimens for a Goods Trademark

The specimen must show the mark as used on or in connection with the goods in commerce. Specifically, a specimen for a goods trademark must show use of the mark in a manner that would be perceived by potential purchasers as identifying the applicant's goods and indicating the goods' source.

When a trademark is on the good itself or on the packaging or containers of the goods, photographs or facsimiles showing the trademark in use on or with the goods are acceptable.

A specimen for a goods trademark can appear:

• On the good itself. The trademark can be imprinted on the body of the goods, as with metal stamping; it can be applied by a rubber stamp; or it can be inked on by using a stencil or template.
• On a tag for the good. For example, you could include your trademark on a sales tag above the product price, or it can be printed below the product specifications on a mattress tag.
• On a label for the good. For instance, your trademark could be on the UPC barcode sticker or on a drink's ingredients label. You could also use shipping or mailing labels affixed to the goods as long as the trademark functions as an indicator of the good's source. For example, if the trademark appears only on the return address, then the specimen wouldn't be appropriate.
• Directly on the packaging or container for the good. The trademark can be on any type of commercial packaging that's normal for the particular goods as they move in trade, such as shipping boxes or shelf display packaging. For instance, gasoline pumps are normal containers or "packaging" for gasoline.
• On a display associated with the goods. If you sell your goods at trade shows or community events, your trademark could be printed out next to a display of your goods as long as customers can connect your trademark with the goods. For example, your trademark could be printed on the tablecloth at your booth or on a sign hanging from your pop-up tent.

(37 C.F.R. §2.56(2022).)

Webpage Listing for a Goods Trademark

If you sell your goods online—whether on your own website or on a third-party online marketplace—you can use a screenshot of the webpage where your good is listed for sale as your specimen.

The webpage must include:

• your trademark, either in the webpage header or in another prominent position
• a picture or description of your good, and
• a way for consumers to immediately purchase your good, such as an "add to cart" or "buy now" option.

If you use this kind of specimen, be sure you include—either on the screenshot or in the application—the website URL and the date you last accessed the webpage. (37 C.F.R. §2.56(c)(2022).)

While most marks appear in writing somewhere, trademarks can also be in audio format. If your mark represents a service, and it appears only on radio ads or in some other audio form, you can submit a sound file of the audio.

For more information about trademarks and federal registration, see our section on trademark law.