Legal help to add a class to your trade mark

This usually becomes relevant when your business starts offering goods or services outside the class covered by your existing registration or application. For example, a brand first used for clothing may later expand into cosmetics, software, or retail services. If the new activity sits in a different class, your current filing may not cover it. This service helps you check whether an added class is the right next step and deals with the legal work involved in making that extra class application.

Trade mark protection is tied to the classes you apply in, so class choice affects what your registration may actually cover. If a class is too narrow, you may leave part of your brand activity uncovered. If it is too broad or poorly matched, you can end up with avoidable filing costs or an application that does not reflect what you genuinely offer. We look at your goods or services, how they are described, and where the extra class fits before the application is lodged.

No. This service is for adding a class to an existing trade mark position, rather than starting a brand filing from scratch. In practice, that means the legal work is centred on whether your current mark should be extended to cover further goods or services and how that should be presented in the application. If you have not yet filed the trade mark at all, or if you are protecting a different brand, a separate registration service may be the better fit.

Usually, yes. IPONZ filing fees for the extra class are separate from our legal fee, and the total government cost depends on what is being filed. We will outline the expected filing charges before you proceed. The legal fee covers the work listed on this page, not third-party charges or later contested stages. It also does not include ongoing representation after filing, so if the matter becomes more involved, any additional legal work would be scoped and priced separately.

After filing, IPONZ will examine the application in the usual way and may accept it, raise questions, or issue concerns about the class wording or registrability. As part of this service, we can help with standard filing-stage queries and keep you updated on progress. If the matter develops into a more complex dispute, formal objection response, or ongoing representation requirement, that would be outside the fixed-fee. At that point, we can explain your options and quote for any extra work if needed.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Trade Mark Additional Class service, pricing starts from $200.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.