Embroidery thread and the finished embroidered trimming it eventually becomes are two different trademark classes — one input, one output, filed separately even though they're made of the same material seconds apart in the production process. That's Nice Class 23 in miniature: one of the smallest, most tightly defined classes in the entire Nice system, covering spun yarns and threads for textile use and nothing beyond that.
Concretely: yarns of cotton, wool, silk, and other natural fibers; synthetic and blended yarns; sewing and machine thread; knitting and crochet yarn; embroidery thread and floss; darning and mending thread; and elastic or specialty threads made for textile use. The test that defines the whole class is simple — has the fiber been spun into yarn or thread, and is it intended for textile use? If yes, it's Class 23.
One Link in a Four-Class Chain
Class 23 is the middle stage of a progression that starts with raw fiber and ends with finished clothing. Raw, unspun fibers and cordage are Class 22 (our Class 22 guide covers that stage); once spun, they become Class 23; once woven or knitted into fabric, Class 24 (see our Class 24 guide); once sewn into a garment, Class 25. A yarn or thread specialist files only here and is done. A vertically integrated textile producer might genuinely need all four registrations, one for each stage its business actually touches.
Where the Craft Market Meets the Supply Chain
Most of the brand-name recognition in this class comes from two very different directions: industrial thread suppliers serving garment manufacturers on one side, and craft and hobby brands serving hand-knitters and embroiderers on the other. Coats and DMC anchor the latter — names most people encounter through a hobby shop rather than a factory floor, even though the underlying product classification is identical to what an industrial thread supplier files.
The boundary that catches people most often: embroidery thread itself is Class 23, as the raw input, but a finished embroidered trimming, lace border, or decorative patch made from that thread is Class 26 — a different class for the output than for the material. A craft brand selling both thread and finished trimmings needs registrations in both. Raw unspun fiber is Class 22, not Class 23, and woven finished fabric is Class 24, not Class 23 — the spun-versus-unspun and spun-versus-woven lines are what actually decide filing here, more than any product-name consideration.
Elastic and Specialty Threads: A Small But Real Sub-Category
Beyond ordinary sewing and knitting yarn, Class 23 also picks up specialty threads that don't fit the "spun natural or synthetic fiber" mental picture most people default to — elastic thread used in waistbands and stretch fabrics, rubber thread woven into fabric for stretch applications, and metallic or reflective thread used decoratively or functionally in technical textiles. These specialty categories matter because they're where thread brands most often overlap with the chemical and rubber classes: a synthetic elastic thread manufacturer may need to check Class 17 (rubber and plastic materials) alongside Class 23, depending on how the product is actually marketed and what stage of processing it represents when sold. It's a narrower overlap than the Class 22/23/24 chain, but it's a real one for any thread brand working with elastic or performance-textile inputs rather than conventional cotton or wool yarn.
Why Yarn and Thread Brands Rarely Face Descriptiveness Problems
Compared to more consumer-facing classes, Class 23 sees relatively few merely-descriptive refusals, and the reason is structural rather than accidental: yarn and thread products are typically sold by weight, fiber content, and color number rather than by a marketed product name, so the branding sits at the company level rather than the product level. A yarn company doesn't usually need to coin a new name for every skein color the way, say, a cosmetics brand names every shade — the company name does the trademark work across the whole catalog. That means the clearance question for a new yarn or thread brand is less about avoiding a descriptive term and more about avoiding confusion with an existing company name already registered in the same or an adjacent textile-chain class, which is exactly why checking Class 22 and Class 24 alongside Class 23 matters even for a business that only spins thread.
Search registered Class 23 trademarks before you file, and check the adjacent Class 22 and Class 24 registers if your business touches more than the spun-yarn stage alone.