Trademark Class 15: Musical Instruments
Musical instruments and their parts, and stands/cases adapted for them.
What Class 15 covers in practice.
Class 15 covers musical instruments of every kind, whether acoustic, mechanical, electrical or electronic, together with their parts and accessories: strings, reeds, pegs, pedals, bows, mouthpieces, drumheads, piano keys, plectrums, colophony (rosin) for stringed instruments, tuning forks and tuning hammers. It also includes music stands, stands and cases for instruments, conductors' batons, musical boxes, drum machines and music synthesizers.
The explanatory note draws the line at sound equipment and recorded music. Apparatus for amplifying or reproducing sound, such as effects pedals and audio mixers, together with metronomes, juke boxes and downloadable music, is Class 9, while printed sheet music and musical greeting cards are Class 16. In India the class is used by makers of harmoniums, tabla, sitars and bamboo flutes, by guitar, keyboard and drum brands, by importers who sell instruments under their own label, and by music schools that brand their own instruments or accessories.
Not in Class 15
Goods and services often confused with this class, and the class they actually belong to.
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Amplifiers, effects pedals and audio mixers Class 9 ↗
The Class 15 note excludes apparatus for amplifying and reproducing sound, naming effects units, wah-wah pedals and audio mixers.
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Metronomes Class 9 ↗
The explanatory note lists metronomes among the exclusions; they are Class 9 apparatus, unlike tuning forks which stay in Class 15.
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Printed sheet music and song books Class 16 ↗
The Class 15 note sends printed sheet music to Class 16, which also lists song books as printed matter.
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Downloadable music files Class 9 ↗
The note excludes downloadable music files and downloadable electronic sheet music, which are Class 9.
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Toy musical instruments Class 28 ↗
Class 28 lists toy musical instruments, while real musical instruments for children are listed in Class 15.
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Music classes and music education Class 41 ↗
Music education is a Class 41 service; Class 15 covers only the instruments and their parts and accessories.
What actually falls under Class 15.
The official heading is a legal category, not a shopping list — here are specific products and services from Class 15 people actually search for.
Bamboo flutes
Cases for musical instruments
Instrument cases are Class 15, not Class 18; the Class 18 note sends them here as cases adapted to their contents.
Colophony (rosin) for stringed instruments
Cymbals and gongs
Drums and drumsticks
Electronic musical instruments and synthesizers
Electronic keyboards are Class 15, but amplifiers and loudspeakers used with them are Class 9.
Guitars and violins
Music stands
Musical instruments
Singing bowls
Strings for musical instruments
Tabla / harmonium / sitar (musical instruments)
Which class is my product or service in?
Straight answers for the specific items people search for under Class 15.
Class 9. The Class 15 explanatory note excludes apparatus for recording, amplifying and reproducing sound, and names effects units, wah-wah pedals, audio interfaces, audio mixers and subwoofers. The guitar itself, its strings, plectrums, straps and stand are Class 15. A brand selling guitars and amplifiers under one name should file in both classes.
Yes. The explanatory note includes electrical and electronic musical instruments, and the Class 15 list has electronic musical instruments, music synthesizers, drum machines, piano keyboards and keyboards for musical instruments. Headphones, loudspeakers and recording apparatus sold alongside them are Class 9, and a keyboard stand is Class 15 as a stand for musical instruments.
Class 15. 'Cases for musical instruments' is a Class 15 term, and the Class 18 explanatory note excludes them because bags and cases adapted to their contents follow those contents. Ordinary backpacks and travel bags stay in Class 18. Do not rely on the separate Class 18 term 'music cases' to cover instrument cases.
No. Music education and teaching are services in Class 41. Class 15 covers only goods: instruments, their parts and accessories. A music academy that also sells instruments or accessories under its own name needs Class 15 for those goods as well as Class 41 for the classes. Tuning of musical instruments offered as a service is Class 37.
Class 15 protects a brand used on the instruments themselves, including instruments made abroad and sold under your own label. If the name identifies a shop or online store bringing together many makers' instruments, that retail service is Class 35. A business that both sells its own-label instruments and runs a multi-brand store should consider Classes 15 and 35.
Musical instruments and their parts, and stands/cases adapted for them.
Common examples include: Bamboo flutes, Cases for musical instruments, Colophony (rosin) for stringed instruments, Cymbals and gongs, Drums and drumsticks, Electronic musical instruments and synthesizers, Guitars and violins, Music stands.
Bamboo flutes falls under Trademark Class 15 — Musical Instruments.
Cases for musical instruments falls under Trademark Class 15 — Musical Instruments. Instrument cases are Class 15, not Class 18; the Class 18 note sends them here as cases adapted to their contents.
Colophony (rosin) for stringed instruments falls under Trademark Class 15 — Musical Instruments.
Cymbals and gongs falls under Trademark Class 15 — Musical Instruments.
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