All classes · Class 17
Class 17: Rubber Goods: trademark trends & clearance risk
Class 17 is the 36th busiest of the 45 classes, with 85,639 U.S. applications on record and 4,704 waiting for a decision. Its registration rate of 75% ranks 3rd of 45, above the 61.9% average. Filings fell 7.2% in 2025, and are still below the 3,384 filed in the peak year of 2024. 70.4% of applications filed from 2015 to 2019 drew an Office Action, the 2nd highest share. The word used most in its live marks is "seal", in 333 of them.
What it covers: Unprocessed and semi-processed rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos, mica
Words already crowded in Class 17
The words that appear most often in the 33,443 live Class 17 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 "seal" is easier to fit in, and harder to defend against the next one.
| Word | Live marks using it |
|---|---|
| seal | 333 |
| pro | 250 |
| flex | 242 |
| tape | 239 |
| products | 176 |
| solutions | 172 |
| shield | 158 |
| foam | 153 |
| wrap | 126 |
| film | 125 |
| guard | 117 |
| ultra | 101 |
| plus | 100 |
| systems | 96 |
| technology | 96 |
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 17, not only exact matches. If your mark has a logo, run it through the logo similarity search too.
Easy to confuse with Class 17
Filing in the wrong class means paying again, so check where your goods or services actually belong.
- Plastics in extruded form, for use in manufacture, are Class 17. Finished plastic goods go in the class of the product, such as Class 20 or 21. Class 20: Furniture
Not sure? Describe what you sell to the class recommender.
Wording that got through in Class 17
The descriptions of goods and services used most often in Class 17 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 |
|---|---|
| Garden hoses | 724 |
| Insulating materials | 659 |
| Watering hose | 647 |
| Flexible hoses, not of metal | 588 |
| Soundproofing materials | 581 |
| Plastic substances, semi-processed | 419 |
| Watering hoses | 387 |
| Synthetic rubber | 386 |
| Lawn hoses | 377 |
| Irrigation hoses | 365 |
| Plastic filaments for 3D printing | 364 |
| Adhesive tape for industrial and commercial use | 360 |
| Insulating tapes | 352 |
| Non-metal hose fittings | 334 |
| Duct tape | 322 |
| Flexible tubes of plastic | 320 |
| Hoses of textile material | 308 |
| Pipe gaskets | 301 |
| Air hoses | 293 |
| Semi-worked abs filaments for use in 3D printing | 287 |
Each application's description split into its separate items, counted once per application. Source: USPTO records. Rebuilt weekly.
What examination did to Class 17 applications
The 12,189 Class 17 applications filed from 2015 to 2019, followed through their file histories. 73% of them registered 11.5 points better than the all-class average.
| What happened | Applications | Share | All 45 classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filed in this class | 12,189 | 100% | – |
| Drew at least one Office Action | 8,576 | 70.4% | 58.4% |
| Escalated to a final refusal | 1,693 | 13.9% | 8.9% |
| Abandoned for never answering one | 1,674 | 13.7% | – |
| Registered in the end | 8,902 | 73% | 61.5% |
Every share is of the 12,189 applications filed. Rows overlap: an application that drew an Office Action and then registered is counted in both.
Of the 8,576 Class 17 applications that drew one, 19.5% 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 17 applications that registered did so within 13.8 months of filing, and nine in ten within 28.8 months.
- Intent to use. 34.1% reached a Notice of Allowance, with only proof of use left to file. Even then, 35.1% of them were abandoned without a Statement of Use ever being filed, and of the ones that bought three or more extensions first, only 37.6% made it to registration.
- Filing without an attorney. 81.9% of Class 17 applications had an attorney on record, and those registered 77.3% of the time against 53.8% without one. 50.3% of unrepresented applicants who drew an Office Action never answered it. Your odds in Class 17.
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) | 30,253 | 35.3% |
| Pending | 4,704 | 5.5% |
| Abandoned | 20,246 | 23.6% |
| Cancelled / expired | 30,436 | 35.5% |
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 | 503 | |
| 2016 | 2,334 | |
| 2017 | 2,621 | |
| 2018 | 2,462 | |
| 2019 | 2,687 | |
| 2020 | 3,100 | |
| 2021 | 3,164 | |
| 2022 | 2,873 | |
| 2023 | 2,983 | |
| 2024 | 3,384 | |
| 2025 | 3,141 | |
| 2026 | 2,203 |
Source: USPTO bulk trademark feed. How we count.
International filings in Class 17 (Madrid System)
Where Class 17 marks are designated, and where they are refused
| Country / office | Designations | Provisional | Total refusals | Partial | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China (CN) | 1,314 | 65.4% | 204 | 461 | 15.5% |
| United States (US) | 1,285 | 98.4% | 45 | 0 | 3.5% |
| European Union (EM) | 1,212 | 30.5% | 27 | 10 | 2.2% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 1,110 | 13.7% | 4 | 4 | 0.4% |
| Switzerland (CH) | 975 | 14.2% | 29 | 3 | 3% |
| India (IN) | 912 | 50.7% | 173 | 0 | 19% |
| Russia (RU) | 880 | 50.3% | 76 | 0 | 8.6% |
| Canada (CA) | 867 | 93.1% | 139 | 0 | 16% |
Most international Class 17 filers come from European Union (3,336), Germany (3,080), France (2,179), Benelux (1,424), Italy (1,187), Switzerland (1,165).
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 17.
| # | Filer | Applications in this class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY, THE | 469 |
| 2 | OWENS CORNING INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL, LLC | 452 |
| 3 | TEKNOR APEX COMPANY | 443 |
| 4 | MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY | 351 |
| 5 | ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS, INC. | 319 |
| 6 | E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY | 302 |
| 7 | OWENS CORNING FIBERGLAS TECHNOLOGY, INC. | 300 |
| 8 | DOW CHEMICAL COMPANY, THE | 279 |
| 9 | GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY | 276 |
| 10 | 3M Company | 265 |
Recently registered in Class 17
The latest marks the USPTO registered in this class, on 29 September 2026.