All classes · Class 31
Class 31: Natural Agricultural Products: trademark trends & clearance risk
Class 31 is the 33rd busiest of the 45 classes, with 134,696 U.S. applications on record and 8,401 waiting for a decision. Its registration rate of 62.8% ranks 28th of 45, close to the 61.9% average. Filings fell 3% in 2025, and are still below the 5,791 filed in the peak year of 2021. 63.2% of applications filed from 2015 to 2019 drew an Office Action, the 19th highest share. The word used most in its live marks is "farms", in 893 of them.
What it covers: Raw and unprocessed agricultural, aquacultural, horticultural and forestry products
Words already crowded in Class 31
The words that appear most often in the 53,197 live Class 31 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 "farms" is easier to fit in, and harder to defend against the next one.
| Word | Live marks using it |
|---|---|
| farms | 893 |
| pet | 866 |
| dog | 678 |
| fresh | 669 |
| farm | 544 |
| food | 492 |
| nature | 445 |
| sweet | 417 |
| seed | 355 |
| green | 353 |
| good | 352 |
| organic | 342 |
| garden | 338 |
| natural | 330 |
| treats | 329 |
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 31, not only exact matches. If your mark has a logo, run it through the logo similarity search too.
Easy to confuse with Class 31
Filing in the wrong class means paying again, so check where your goods or services actually belong.
- Fresh fruit, vegetables, live plants and animal feed are Class 31. Processed foods are Class 29 or 30. Class 29: Meats & Processed Foods
Not sure? Describe what you sell to the class recommender.
Wording that got through in Class 31
The descriptions of goods and services used most often in Class 31 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 |
|---|---|
| Pet food | 2,541 |
| Edible pet treats | 1,954 |
| Live plants | 877 |
| Dog food | 806 |
| Animal feed | 792 |
| Animal foodstuffs | 758 |
| Edible dog treats | 731 |
| Cat food | 643 |
| Natural plants and flowers | 589 |
| Plant seeds | 565 |
| Beverages for pets | 555 |
| Edible chews for animals | 545 |
| Fresh vegetables | 518 |
| Food for animals | 512 |
| Foodstuffs for animals | 486 |
| Live animals | 478 |
| Cat litter | 476 |
| Dog biscuits | 457 |
| Flowers, dried, for decoration | 435 |
| Agricultural seeds | 411 |
Each application's description split into its separate items, counted once per application. Source: USPTO records. Rebuilt weekly.
What examination did to Class 31 applications
The 22,836 Class 31 applications filed from 2015 to 2019, followed through their file histories. 58.7% of them registered 2.8 points worse than the all-class average.
| What happened | Applications | Share | All 45 classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filed in this class | 22,836 | 100% | – |
| Drew at least one Office Action | 14,423 | 63.2% | 58.4% |
| Escalated to a final refusal | 2,098 | 9.2% | 8.9% |
| Abandoned for never answering one | 4,830 | 21.2% | – |
| Registered in the end | 13,416 | 58.7% | 61.5% |
Every share is of the 22,836 applications filed. Rows overlap: an application that drew an Office Action and then registered is counted in both.
Of the 14,423 Class 31 applications that drew one, 33.5% were abandoned for never answering or answering late. Of those that did answer, 78.7% 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 31 applications that registered did so within 13.3 months of filing, and nine in ten within 30.1 months.
- Intent to use. 41.6% reached a Notice of Allowance, with only proof of use left to file. Even then, 42.9% of them were abandoned without a Statement of Use ever being filed, and of the ones that bought three or more extensions first, only 34.6% made it to registration.
- Filing without an attorney. 77.2% of Class 31 applications had an attorney on record, and those registered 63.3% of the time against 43.3% without one. 58.9% of unrepresented applicants who drew an Office Action never answered it. Your odds in Class 31.
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) | 36,795 | 27.3% |
| Pending | 8,401 | 6.2% |
| Abandoned | 47,012 | 34.9% |
| Cancelled / expired | 42,488 | 31.5% |
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 | 940 | |
| 2016 | 4,289 | |
| 2017 | 4,559 | |
| 2018 | 4,983 | |
| 2019 | 5,210 | |
| 2020 | 5,459 | |
| 2021 | 5,791 | |
| 2022 | 4,901 | |
| 2023 | 4,826 | |
| 2024 | 5,429 | |
| 2025 | 5,268 | |
| 2026 | 4,201 |
Source: USPTO bulk trademark feed. How we count.
International filings in Class 31 (Madrid System)
Where Class 31 marks are designated, and where they are refused
| Country / office | Designations | Provisional | Total refusals | Partial | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union (EM) | 1,070 | 31.6% | 24 | 9 | 2.2% |
| United States (US) | 1,006 | 96.2% | 29 | 1 | 2.9% |
| China (CN) | 945 | 66% | 199 | 282 | 21.1% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 921 | 15.9% | 2 | 2 | 0.2% |
| Switzerland (CH) | 840 | 20.5% | 30 | 2 | 3.6% |
| Canada (CA) | 821 | 89.9% | 158 | 0 | 19.2% |
| Russia (RU) | 709 | 49.4% | 74 | 0 | 10.4% |
| Australia (AU) | 682 | 35.8% | 2 | 0 | 0.3% |
Most international Class 31 filers come from European Union (2,607), France (2,404), Germany (1,951), Benelux (1,719), Switzerland (1,241), United States (909).
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 31.
| # | Filer | Applications in this class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | RALSTON PURINA COMPANY | 1,987 |
| 2 | SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A. | 1,565 |
| 3 | MARS, INCORPORATED | 1,327 |
| 4 | Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc | 1,157 |
| 5 | CARGILL, INCORPORATED | 1,071 |
| 6 | KAL KAN FOODS, INC. | 1,009 |
| 7 | MONROVIA NURSERY COMPANY | 798 |
| 8 | SYNGENTA PARTICIPATIONS AG | 758 |
| 9 | PETSMART HOME OFFICE, INC. | 756 |
| 10 | LAND O'LAKES, INC. | 680 |
Recently registered in Class 31
The latest marks the USPTO registered in this class, on 29 September 2026.