All classes · Class 45
Class 45: Legal & Security Services: trademark trends & clearance risk
Class 45 is the 27th busiest of the 45 classes, with 207,533 U.S. applications on record and 20,554 waiting for a decision. Its registration rate of 62.9% ranks 27th of 45, above the 61.9% average. Filings rose 12% in 2025, the most in a decade. 63.5% of applications filed from 2015 to 2019 drew an Office Action, the 17th highest share. The word used most in its live marks is "law", in 2,912 of them.
What it covers: Legal services; security services for the protection of property and individuals
Words already crowded in Class 45
The words that appear most often in the 92,091 live Class 45 marks. A word that many owners already use gets narrow protection: two marks that share it are usually told apart by the rest of the name. That cuts both ways. A new name built on "law" is easier to fit in, and harder to defend against the next one.
| Word | Live marks using it |
|---|---|
| law | 2,912 |
| group | 1,114 |
| care | 1,108 |
| services | 1,084 |
| life | 1,053 |
| com | 1,047 |
| legal | 1,016 |
| home | 840 |
| security | 769 |
| solutions | 745 |
| church | 696 |
| firm | 668 |
| love | 577 |
| center | 569 |
| health | 532 |
Live marks are registered or pending. Words of three letters or more, counted once per mark; articles and company suffixes left out. Rebuilt weekly.
Check before you file. The free clearance risk check finds marks that look or sound like yours in Class 45, not only exact matches. If your mark has a logo, run it through the logo similarity search too.
Easy to confuse with Class 45
Filing in the wrong class means paying again, so check where your goods or services actually belong.
- Legal services and licensing of intellectual property are Class 45. Business management and consulting are Class 35. Class 35: Advertising & Business
Not sure? Describe what you sell to the class recommender.
Wording that got through in Class 45
The descriptions of goods and services used most often in Class 45 applications that went on to register, filed since 2020. Wording that examiners have accepted thousands of times is a safer start than your own: a description written freely costs $200 more per class and is a common reason for an Office Action asking you to rephrase. Check the exact entry in the USPTO's ID Manual before you file.
| Description | Registered marks using it |
|---|---|
| Legal services | 5,924 |
| Online social networking services | 1,705 |
| Legal consultation services | 1,058 |
| Christian ministry services | 874 |
| Legal advisory services | 850 |
| Dating services | 633 |
| Legal information services | 633 |
| Licensing of intellectual property | 574 |
| Attorney services | 553 |
| Legal document preparation services | 550 |
| Legal advice | 532 |
| Legal support services | 520 |
| Religious and spiritual services, namely, providing gatherings and retreats to develop and enhance the spiritual lives of individuals | 457 |
| Internet-based social networking services | 443 |
| Online social networking services accessible by means of downloadable mobile applications | 443 |
| Security guard services | 418 |
| Conducting religious prayer services | 393 |
| Legal research | 385 |
| On-line social networking services | 382 |
| Litigation services | 356 |
Each application's description split into its separate items, counted once per application. Source: USPTO records. Rebuilt weekly.
What examination did to Class 45 applications
The 48,820 Class 45 applications filed from 2015 to 2019, followed through their file histories. 64.1% of them registered 2.6 points better than the all-class average.
| What happened | Applications | Share | All 45 classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filed in this class | 48,820 | 100% | – |
| Drew at least one Office Action | 30,984 | 63.5% | 58.4% |
| Escalated to a final refusal | 5,397 | 11.1% | 8.9% |
| Abandoned for never answering one | 9,304 | 19.1% | – |
| Registered in the end | 31,313 | 64.1% | 61.5% |
Every share is of the 48,820 applications filed. Rows overlap: an application that drew an Office Action and then registered is counted in both.
Of the 30,984 Class 45 applications that drew one, 30% were abandoned for never answering or answering late. Of those that did answer, 81.6% went on to register. If you get one, the deadline matters more than the refusal does: track it here, and put an email address you actually read on the application.
- How long it took. Half the Class 45 applications that registered did so within 12.2 months of filing, and nine in ten within 28.2 months.
- Intent to use. 35.2% reached a Notice of Allowance, with only proof of use left to file. Even then, 43.5% of them were abandoned without a Statement of Use ever being filed, and of the ones that bought three or more extensions first, only 39.6% made it to registration.
- Filing without an attorney. 74.1% of Class 45 applications had an attorney on record, and those registered 69.7% of the time against 48.2% without one. 54.4% of unrepresented applicants who drew an Office Action never answered it. Your odds in Class 45.
Cohort: applications with a filing date from 2015 to 2019, counted once in every class they claim. Outcome is whether a registration ever issued. Source: USPTO file histories. All 45 classes compared. How we count.
Status mix of all filings
| Status | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Live (registered) | 70,896 | 34.2% |
| Pending | 20,554 | 9.9% |
| Abandoned | 69,418 | 33.4% |
| Cancelled / expired | 46,665 | 22.5% |
Filings by year (last decade)
How many new applications were filed in this class each year. Excludes records with null filing dates (mostly very old paper backfile).
| Year | New filings | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,236 | |
| 2016 | 9,212 | |
| 2017 | 9,771 | |
| 2018 | 9,827 | |
| 2019 | 10,372 | |
| 2020 | 12,257 | |
| 2021 | 12,630 | |
| 2022 | 11,822 | |
| 2023 | 11,102 | |
| 2024 | 11,439 | |
| 2025 | 12,812 | |
| 2026 | 10,922 |
Source: USPTO bulk trademark feed. How we count.
International filings in Class 45 (Madrid System)
Where Class 45 marks are designated, and where they are refused
| Country / office | Designations | Provisional | Total refusals | Partial | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union (EM) | 1,560 | 35.1% | 50 | 18 | 3.2% |
| United States (US) | 1,430 | 98.8% | 48 | 5 | 3.4% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 1,429 | 19.6% | 5 | 7 | 0.3% |
| Canada (CA) | 1,255 | 93.4% | 284 | 0 | 22.6% |
| Switzerland (CH) | 1,212 | 17.1% | 38 | 2 | 3.1% |
| China (CN) | 1,113 | 76.8% | 223 | 454 | 20% |
| Australia (AU) | 1,047 | 46.1% | 1 | 2 | 0.1% |
| India (IN) | 997 | 59.8% | 237 | 0 | 23.8% |
Most international Class 45 filers come from European Union (2,672), Germany (1,823), United States (1,765), Switzerland (1,479), United Kingdom (1,472), France (1,374).
WIPO Madrid Monitor data (CC BY 4.0); refusals measured on 2019–2022 registrations. Why we count this way.
Most-active filers in this class
The 10 entities with the most trademark applications in Class 45.
| # | Filer | Applications in this class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | 357 |
| 2 | United States Department of Homeland Security | 312 |
| 3 | CAMPUS CRUSADE FOR CHRIST, INC. | 305 |
| 4 | Bumble Holding Limited | 236 |
| 5 | ADVANCE MAGAZINE PUBLISHERS INC. | 213 |
| 6 | Facebook, Inc. | 168 |
| 7 | INTERSECTIONS, INC. | 165 |
| 8 | CLOVER8 INVESTMENTS PTE. LTD.. | 163 |
| 9 | HUMANA INC. | 162 |
| 10 | Sovereign Deed, LLC | 160 |
Recently registered in Class 45
The latest marks the USPTO registered in this class, on 29 September 2026.