Yarns and threads for textile use.
Trademark applications and registrations in Class 23 over the past 15 years.
Class 23 is the smallest of all 45 Nice Classification classes, with fewer than 3,800 live marks. It covers a single, narrowly defined category: yarns and threads for textile use. This extreme specificity makes it both straightforward to classify and easy to overlook when it does apply.
The class is dominated by a small number of specialized manufacturers. Coats Group, the world's largest industrial thread company, DMC, known for embroidery threads, and Premier Yarns, a leading craft yarn supplier, represent the primary commercial segments. The class serves both industrial textile manufacturers sourcing thread for garment construction and the substantial consumer craft market for knitting, crocheting, and embroidery yarns.
Despite its narrow scope, classification errors do occur. Metal threads for embroidery belong in Class 26 with haberdashery, not Class 23. Rubber threads and elastic bands are classified in Class 17. Surgical sutures and medical threads fall under Class 10. The key qualifier is "for textile use" — threads serving non-textile purposes are classified according to their specific application. Applicants should also distinguish between yarns and threads (Class 23) and the raw fibrous materials from which they are made (Class 22).
Class 23 sits in the middle of the textile supply chain: raw fibers in Class 22, yarns and threads here in Class 23, and finished fabrics in Class 24. Brands operating across this chain — particularly vertically integrated textile companies — often file in all three classes. For craft and hobby brands selling yarns directly to consumers, Class 23 is typically paired with Class 35 for retail services and sometimes Class 26 for accessories like needles and embroidery supplies.
Class 23 includes mainly natural or synthetic yarns and threads for textile use.
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Search TrademarksClass 22 covers raw fibrous textile materials (unprocessed cotton, wool, hemp). Class 23 covers processed yarns and threads ready for textile use (spun yarn, sewing thread, embroidery floss). The raw material is Class 22; the finished thread is Class 23.
No. Dental floss belongs in Class 3 (non-medicated dentifrices) or Class 5 (medical preparations). Surgical suture materials belong in Class 10. Class 23 covers threads exclusively for textile use.
No. Fishing line is classified in Class 28 (sporting articles). Class 23 is specifically for yarns and threads used in making textiles (weaving, knitting, sewing, embroidery).
Yes. All yarns intended for textile use belong in Class 23, whether for hand knitting, crocheting, machine knitting, or weaving. This includes wool, cotton, acrylic, and blended yarns sold in skeins, balls, or cones.
Embroidery floss and thread belong in Class 23 as threads for textile use. However, embroidery needles, hoops, and patterns belong in Class 26 (sewing notions). Brands selling complete embroidery kits typically file in both Class 23 and Class 26.
Yes. Class 23 has fewer than 3,800 live marks, making it the least-filed of all 45 classes. Its narrow scope — only yarns and threads for textile use — means few brands file here exclusively. Most Class 23 filers also file in Classes 24, 26, or both.
No. 3D printer filaments are classified in Class 17 (plastics in extruded form) since they are plastic materials for manufacturing, not threads for textile use. Class 23 requires that the thread or yarn be intended for textile applications.
Thread marketed and sold for sewing or stitching leather goods is generally still classified in Class 23, since it is thread for a textile-related purpose. The leather goods themselves belong in Class 18, and leather sewing needles fall under Class 26.
Class 23 covers thread and yarn as raw materials for textile use. Class 26 covers finished sewing notions — items like pre-threaded needles, embroidery kits, and metallic thread for decorative embroidery. When in doubt, thread sold by the spool for sewing or knitting is Class 23.