All classes · Class 6
Class 6: Metal Goods: trademark trends & clearance risk
Class 6 is the 30th busiest of the 45 classes, with 176,135 U.S. applications on record and 10,912 waiting for a decision. Its registration rate of 74.6% ranks 4th of 45, above the 61.9% average. Filings fell 9.1% in 2025, and are still below the 8,351 filed in the peak year of 2024. 68.9% of applications filed from 2015 to 2019 drew an Office Action, the 5th highest share. The word used most in its live marks is "lock", in 409 of them.
What it covers: Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal
Words already crowded in Class 6
The words that appear most often in the 71,232 live Class 6 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 "lock" is easier to fit in, and harder to defend against the next one.
| Word | Live marks using it |
|---|---|
| lock | 409 |
| steel | 407 |
| systems | 357 |
| products | 354 |
| solutions | 318 |
| pro | 289 |
| home | 288 |
| system | 266 |
| metal | 241 |
| safe | 225 |
| door | 217 |
| hardware | 209 |
| guard | 197 |
| lok | 197 |
| series | 183 |
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 6, not only exact matches. If your mark has a logo, run it through the logo similarity search too.
Easy to confuse with Class 6
Filing in the wrong class means paying again, so check where your goods or services actually belong.
- Building materials of metal are Class 6. The same materials in wood, stone or concrete are Class 19. Class 19: Building Materials
- Mechanical metal locks are Class 6. Electronic locks are Class 9. Class 9: Computers & Electronics
Not sure? Describe what you sell to the class recommender.
Wording that got through in Class 6
The descriptions of goods and services used most often in Class 6 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 |
|---|---|
| Metal hooks | 2,789 |
| Fittings of metal for furniture | 2,506 |
| Door handles of metal | 2,098 |
| Door fittings of metal | 1,634 |
| Works of art of common metal | 1,519 |
| Metal locks | 1,448 |
| Hardware, namely, metal brackets for general use | 1,432 |
| Furniture fittings of metal | 1,425 |
| Screws of metal | 1,252 |
| Metal screws | 1,240 |
| Hinges of metal | 1,191 |
| Metal locksets | 1,129 |
| Locks of metal, other than electric | 1,096 |
| Brackets of metal for furniture | 1,057 |
| Safes | 1,046 |
| Bolts of metal | 943 |
| Metal hinges | 941 |
| Metal locks and keys therefor | 937 |
| Metal clothes hooks | 924 |
| Signboards of metal | 849 |
Each application's description split into its separate items, counted once per application. Source: USPTO records. Rebuilt weekly.
What examination did to Class 6 applications
The 23,599 Class 6 applications filed from 2015 to 2019, followed through their file histories. 72.1% of them registered 10.6 points better than the all-class average.
| What happened | Applications | Share | All 45 classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filed in this class | 23,599 | 100% | – |
| Drew at least one Office Action | 16,264 | 68.9% | 58.4% |
| Escalated to a final refusal | 3,079 | 13% | 8.9% |
| Abandoned for never answering one | 3,502 | 14.8% | – |
| Registered in the end | 17,006 | 72.1% | 61.5% |
Every share is of the 23,599 applications filed. Rows overlap: an application that drew an Office Action and then registered is counted in both.
Of the 16,264 Class 6 applications that drew one, 21.5% were abandoned for never answering or answering late. Of those that did answer, 87.1% 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 6 applications that registered did so within 13.5 months of filing, and nine in ten within 28.9 months.
- Intent to use. 33.6% reached a Notice of Allowance, with only proof of use left to file. Even then, 35.8% of them were abandoned without a Statement of Use ever being filed, and of the ones that bought three or more extensions first, only 40.7% made it to registration.
- Filing without an attorney. 80.5% of Class 6 applications had an attorney on record, and those registered 76.8% of the time against 52.5% without one. 51.9% of unrepresented applicants who drew an Office Action never answered it. Your odds in Class 6.
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) | 64,682 | 36.7% |
| Pending | 10,912 | 6.2% |
| Abandoned | 41,922 | 23.8% |
| Cancelled / expired | 58,619 | 33.3% |
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 | 1,003 | |
| 2016 | 4,438 | |
| 2017 | 4,795 | |
| 2018 | 4,915 | |
| 2019 | 5,447 | |
| 2020 | 6,874 | |
| 2021 | 7,643 | |
| 2022 | 6,775 | |
| 2023 | 7,104 | |
| 2024 | 8,351 | |
| 2025 | 7,589 | |
| 2026 | 5,720 |
Source: USPTO bulk trademark feed. How we count.
International filings in Class 6 (Madrid System)
Where Class 6 marks are designated, and where they are refused
| Country / office | Designations | Provisional | Total refusals | Partial | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States (US) | 1,877 | 97.5% | 49 | 2 | 2.6% |
| China (CN) | 1,874 | 71.9% | 351 | 706 | 18.7% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 1,661 | 15.1% | 13 | 7 | 0.8% |
| European Union (EM) | 1,624 | 31.5% | 38 | 13 | 2.3% |
| Switzerland (CH) | 1,549 | 14.1% | 33 | 1 | 2.1% |
| Canada (CA) | 1,351 | 93.6% | 260 | 0 | 19.2% |
| India (IN) | 1,280 | 52.3% | 265 | 0 | 20.7% |
| Russia (RU) | 1,175 | 50.1% | 115 | 0 | 9.8% |
Most international Class 6 filers come from European Union (5,510), Germany (4,357), France (3,139), Switzerland (1,822), Italy (1,780), Benelux (1,525).
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 6.
| # | Filer | Applications in this class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC. | 476 |
| 2 | SIMPSON STRONG-TIE COMPANY, INC. | 447 |
| 3 | REYNOLDS METALS COMPANY | 356 |
| 4 | FORD MOTOR COMPANY | 350 |
| 5 | Textron Inc. | 347 |
| 6 | ACUMENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES, LLC | 347 |
| 7 | LF, LLC | 332 |
| 8 | Home Depot Product Authority, LLC | 300 |
| 9 | Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG | 296 |
| 10 | ALCOA, INC. | 295 |
Recently registered in Class 6
The latest marks the USPTO registered in this class, on 29 September 2026.