August 24, 2026 by Amit Kumar
Class 9 includes apparatus and instruments used for scientific, electrical, electronic, optical, measuring, or computing purposes.
Goods covered under this class generally include:
Classification principle: If the product is an electronic, electrical, optical, measuring, computing, or scientific device, it generally falls within Class 9.
As per the Nice Classification updates 2026, the following clarifications are particularly relevant to Class 9:
Wearable technology, AI-enabled devices, Internet of Things (IoT) hardware, and virtual reality headsets are now more clearly classified in Class 9. Earlier, some of these were split between Class 9 and Class 42 depending on whether they were seen as products or services.
Practical takeaway: When filing for hardware with embedded software, focus the specification on the apparatus itself. If the offering is a service delivered via software, Class 42 may be more appropriate.
The following goods are excluded from Class 9, despite frequent misclassification:
Classification Data is based on the Latest Nice Classification at, https://www.wipo.int/en/web/classification-nice