Services

Trademark Class 40: Material Treatment

Treatment of materials.

51,735live trademarks

Filing Activity

Trademark applications and registrations in Class 40 over the past 15 years.

Class 40 covers treatment of materials, including custom manufacturing, recycling, and energy production. It is one of the smaller service classes, reflecting its focus on process-oriented industrial services rather than consumer-facing offerings. The class fundamentally concerns the transformation or processing of materials and objects — services where the provider alters the physical or chemical properties of something owned by the customer.

Key service categories include custom manufacturing and assembly to order, metalworking, woodworking, textile treatment (dyeing, finishing, and printing on fabrics), food and beverage processing, water treatment, waste treatment and recycling, and energy generation. Top filing firms include LZ Legal Services, Greenberg Traurig, and Taft Stettinius & Hollister, the latter reflecting the class's concentration in manufacturing-heavy regions. The growing importance of sustainability and circular economy practices has increased filing activity for recycling, upcycling, and waste-to-energy conversion services.

The defining classification principle in Class 40 is the distinction between manufacturing goods for sale (classified in the relevant goods class) and providing custom manufacturing or material treatment as a service to others. A company that produces and sells printed t-shirts files in Class 25 for the goods, but a company that provides custom printing services on customer-supplied garments files in Class 40. Similarly, a brewery selling its own beer files in Class 32, but contract brewing services belong in Class 40. This goods-versus-services distinction is the single most common source of classification errors in this class. 3D printing services, a rapidly growing subcategory, belong in Class 40 when offered as a service.

Strategic multi-class filings commonly pair Class 40 with Class 37 for installation services that follow custom manufacturing, Class 42 for the design and engineering services that precede manufacturing, and the appropriate goods class for any finished products sold under the same brand. Sustainability-focused brands should consider Class 40 for recycling and treatment services alongside Class 35 for environmental consulting and Class 42 for environmental monitoring technology.

What's Included in Class 40

Class 40 includes mainly services not included in other classes, rendered by the mechanical or chemical processing, transformation or production of objects or inorganic or organic substances, including custom manufacturing services. For the purposes of classification, the production or manufacturing of goods is considered a service only in cases where it is effected for the account of another person to their order and specification. If the production or manufacturing is not being performed to fulfil an order for goods which meet the customer's particular needs, requirements, or specifications, then it is generally ancillary to the maker's primary commercial activity or goods in trade. If the substance or object is marketed to third parties by the person who processed, transformed or produced it, then this would generally not be considered a service.

  • services relating to transformation of an object or substance and any process involving a change in its essential properties (for example, dyeing a garment); consequently, a maintenance service, although usually in Cl. 37, is included in Class 40 if it entails such a change (for example, the chroming of motor vehicle bumpers);
  • services of material treatment which may be present during the production of any substance or object other than a building, for example, services which involve cutting, shaping, polishing by abrasion or metal coating;
  • the custom manufacturing of goods to the order and specification of others (bearing in mind that certain offices require that the goods produced be indicated), for example, custom manufacturing of automobiles.
  • repair services (Cl. 37);
  • certain customization services, for example, the custom painting of automobiles (Cl. 37).
🖨️ Custom printing and screen printing
🔨 Metal casting and forging
🎨 Textile dyeing and finishing
🪵 Woodworking and cabinetmaking
💧 Water treatment and purification
🥫 Food processing and canning
♻️ Recycling and waste treatment
✂️ Custom tailoring and alteration

Top Filers in Class 40

#OwnerFilings
1HALLIBURTON ENERGY SERVICES, INC.63
2RESOURCE LABEL GROUP, LLC46
3EDP RENEWABLES NORTH AMERICA LLC40
4WM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY HOLDINGS, L.L.C.37
5NEXTERA ENERGY, INC.37
6Dr. Christina Rahm, LLC35
7AXENS (Société anonyme)32
8DIVERGENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.31
9SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, CO., LTD.30
10TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.28

Top Law Firms in Class 40

#FirmTotal
1LZ Legal Services, LLC824
2Greenberg Traurig, LLP574
3Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP530
4Troutman Pepper Locke LLP486
5Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP472
6Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP439
7BARNES & THORNBURG LLP436
8LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, P.C.408
9Merchant & Gould P.C.403
10GARDERE WYNNE SEWELL LLP365

Recent Registrations

Mark
BGS US
CASA NATIMA
BEONE
CEIBO
PRISM
J&J DESIGNS
STROSEK
UTOPIA LIGHTING
MITCH'S
SEVVS

Featured Research

Editorial deep dives spanning Nice Class 40 and adjacent classes

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does Class 40 actually cover?

Class 40 covers services that physically transform materials from one form to another: custom manufacturing, processing, treating, and fabricating. Examples include custom printing, metalworking, textile dyeing, food processing, and water purification. It is the service of transforming materials, not the sale of finished goods.

What is the difference between Class 37 and Class 40?

Class 37 covers construction, repair, and installation (working on existing things). Class 40 covers material treatment and custom manufacturing (creating new things from raw materials). Building a house is Class 37; custom-fabricating the steel beams for it is Class 40.

Are 3D printing services in Class 40?

Yes. Custom 3D printing and additive manufacturing services, where a customer provides a design and the service produces the physical object, belong in Class 40.

Is contract manufacturing in Class 40?

Yes. Contract manufacturing, where a company produces goods to another company's specifications, belongs in Class 40. The key distinction is that the manufacturer is providing a processing service, not selling its own finished goods. A contract brewery or custom textile printer files in Class 40.

Does Class 40 cover recycling services?

Yes. Recycling, waste treatment, and material recovery services all belong in Class 40 as material treatment services. Waste collection and hauling is a transportation service in Class 39. The recycling equipment itself belongs in Class 7. Sustainability brands often need all three classes.

Where do photo printing services fall?

Custom photo printing and processing services belong in Class 40. This includes photo book creation, canvas printing, and print-on-demand services. The printed photographs as goods may belong in Class 16. Online photo printing platforms also need Class 42 for the software.

Are engraving and embroidery services in Class 40?

Yes. Custom engraving, embroidery, monogramming, and personalization services belong in Class 40 as material treatment. The service transforms the customer's item by adding decoration or text. The embroidery thread belongs in Class 23, and engraving tools in Class 8.

Does Class 40 cover food processing for others?

Yes. Custom food processing, canning, smoking, and preserving services performed on behalf of another party belong in Class 40. A company that processes and packages food for its own sale files in the appropriate goods class (Class 29 or 30), not Class 40.

What is the difference between Class 40 and selling custom goods?

If you manufacture and sell your own custom products, file in the goods class for those products. If you provide manufacturing or treatment as a service to others using their materials or specifications, file in Class 40. A T-shirt company selling its own designs files in Class 25; a screen printing shop printing customer designs files in Class 40.

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