Bol.com wants to know whether your trademark has been registered with BOIP for the correct class(es) to sell your goods. The ‘correct’ classes are the classes that apply to your product. You must choose the correct terms within those classes. We refer to this as ‘classification’.
Determine which products you are going to use your trademark for
Classification means that you must indicate the products you intend to use your trademark for. This determines the scope of protection of your trademark. A useful tool to help you with this is TMclass. This classification assistant helps you to search for your products and find the corresponding class.
The products selected determine the scope of protection
Here’s an example. Let's imagine that you sell thermos flasks. Class 21 applies in this case, and within it the term ‘thermos flasks’. If you sell backpacks, you need class 18, and within it the term ‘backpacks’. As stated, the products selected determine the scope of protection of your trademark. Be careful though: you cannot widen the choice of products at a later date. You can decide to limit the scope of protection though.
Tip: Within 5 years of registering, you must also actually use your trademark for all the products you registered it for. If you don’t, you run the risk of losing your trademark.