All classes · Class 34
Class 34: Smokers Articles: trademark trends & clearance risk
Class 34 is the 38th busiest of the 45 classes, with 80,496 U.S. applications on record and 5,773 waiting for a decision. Its registration rate of 54.1% ranks 41st of 45, below the 61.9% average. Filings fell 10.2% in 2025, and are still below the 4,659 filed in the peak year of 2021. 62.6% of applications filed from 2015 to 2019 drew an Office Action, the 22nd highest share. The word used most in its live marks is "cigars", in 533 of them.
What it covers: Tobacco; smokers articles; matches
Words already crowded in Class 34
The words that appear most often in the 32,904 live Class 34 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 "cigars" is easier to fit in, and harder to defend against the next one.
| Word | Live marks using it |
|---|---|
| cigars | 533 |
| cigar | 317 |
| tobacco | 309 |
| leaf | 264 |
| smoke | 264 |
| vape | 247 |
| black | 204 |
| bar | 201 |
| gold | 182 |
| cannabis | 179 |
| vapor | 176 |
| american | 169 |
| hemp | 165 |
| high | 164 |
| don | 159 |
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 34, not only exact matches. If your mark has a logo, run it through the logo similarity search too.
Easy to confuse with Class 34
Filing in the wrong class means paying again, so check where your goods or services actually belong.
- Tobacco, e-cigarettes and smokers' articles are Class 34. Nicotine gum and patches to help quit are Class 5. Class 5: Pharmaceuticals
Not sure? Describe what you sell to the class recommender.
Wording that got through in Class 34
The descriptions of goods and services used most often in Class 34 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 |
|---|---|
| Electronic cigarettes | 2,607 |
| Cigars | 1,594 |
| Liquid nicotine solutions for use in electronic cigarettes | 1,513 |
| Lighters for smokers | 1,396 |
| Oral vaporizers for smokers | 1,239 |
| Cigarettes | 1,234 |
| Ashtrays | 1,107 |
| Cigarette filters | 1,035 |
| Tobacco | 1,025 |
| Tobacco pipes | 1,004 |
| Matches | 795 |
| Flavorings, other than essential oils, for use in electronic cigarettes | 788 |
| Cigarette cases | 747 |
| Cigarette lighters | 700 |
| Electronic cigarettes for use as an alternative to traditional cigarettes | 664 |
| Electric cigarettes | 647 |
| Flavourings, other than essential oils, for use in electronic cigarettes | 643 |
| Electronic cigarette atomizers sold empty | 642 |
| Cigarette holders | 633 |
| Cigarettes containing tobacco substitutes, not for medical purposes | 629 |
Each application's description split into its separate items, counted once per application. Source: USPTO records. Rebuilt weekly.
What examination did to Class 34 applications
The 18,420 Class 34 applications filed from 2015 to 2019, followed through their file histories. 48% of them registered 13.5 points worse than the all-class average.
| What happened | Applications | Share | All 45 classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filed in this class | 18,420 | 100% | – |
| Drew at least one Office Action | 11,524 | 62.6% | 58.4% |
| Escalated to a final refusal | 1,570 | 8.5% | 8.9% |
| Abandoned for never answering one | 5,295 | 28.7% | – |
| Registered in the end | 8,837 | 48% | 61.5% |
Every share is of the 18,420 applications filed. Rows overlap: an application that drew an Office Action and then registered is counted in both.
Of the 11,524 Class 34 applications that drew one, 45.9% were abandoned for never answering or answering late. Of those that did answer, 68.2% 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 34 applications that registered did so within 12 months of filing, and nine in ten within 28.9 months.
- Intent to use. 36% reached a Notice of Allowance, with only proof of use left to file. Even then, 51.6% of them were abandoned without a Statement of Use ever being filed, and of the ones that bought three or more extensions first, only 27.2% made it to registration.
- Filing without an attorney. 71% of Class 34 applications had an attorney on record, and those registered 50.8% of the time against 40.9% without one. 65.5% of unrepresented applicants who drew an Office Action never answered it. Your odds in Class 34.
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) | 19,193 | 23.8% |
| Pending | 5,773 | 7.2% |
| Abandoned | 34,295 | 42.6% |
| Cancelled / expired | 21,235 | 26.4% |
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 | 770 | |
| 2016 | 3,055 | |
| 2017 | 3,349 | |
| 2018 | 3,695 | |
| 2019 | 4,606 | |
| 2020 | 3,988 | |
| 2021 | 4,659 | |
| 2022 | 4,097 | |
| 2023 | 4,479 | |
| 2024 | 3,727 | |
| 2025 | 3,345 | |
| 2026 | 2,158 |
Source: USPTO bulk trademark feed. How we count.
International filings in Class 34 (Madrid System)
Where Class 34 marks are designated, and where they are refused
| Country / office | Designations | Provisional | Total refusals | Partial | Refusal rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukraine (UA) | 434 | 12.9% | 34 | 1 | 7.8% |
| European Union (EM) | 432 | 30.3% | 9 | 4 | 2.1% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 423 | 13.7% | 1 | 0 | 0.2% |
| Russia (RU) | 414 | 43% | 51 | 0 | 12.3% |
| Indonesia (ID) | 400 | 20% | 44 | 7 | 11% |
| Kazakhstan (KZ) | 383 | 20.9% | 8 | 0 | 2.1% |
| Philippines (PH) | 379 | 74.9% | 16 | 0 | 4.2% |
| Canada (CA) | 376 | 84.6% | 68 | 0 | 18.1% |
Most international Class 34 filers come from Switzerland (1,841), France (848), Germany (844), European Union (810), Benelux (528), United States (476).
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 34.
| # | Filer | Applications in this class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philip Morris USA Inc. | 1,073 |
| 2 | R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY | 1,000 |
| 3 | Philip Morris Incorporated | 873 |
| 4 | K. HANSOTIA & CO., INC. | 867 |
| 5 | Philip Morris Products S.A. | 833 |
| 6 | Bereber, Brian | 806 |
| 7 | REYNOLDS INNOVATIONS INC. | 702 |
| 8 | BROWN & WILLIAMSON TOBACCO CORPORATION | 668 |
| 9 | GENERAL CIGAR CO. INC. | 664 |
| 10 | GMB, INC. | 629 |
Recently registered in Class 34
The latest marks the USPTO registered in this class, on 29 September 2026.