What Is Nice Class 44?
Nice Class 44 is the trademark classification for medical, wellness, beauty, and agricultural services provided to people, animals, or plants. It covers a sprawling range of human-care services — medical clinics, hospitals, telehealth, dentistry, dermatology, physical therapy, mental-health counseling, nursing, and pharmacy services — as well as beauty and hygiene services like salons, spas, med-spas, and skincare treatments. It also includes veterinary services and agricultural, horticultural, and forestry services.
The single most important thing to understand about Class 44 is that it is a services class. It protects what you do for a customer, not a physical product you sell. A jar of moisturizer is a Class 3 product; performing a facial is a Class 44 service. A bottle of supplements is a Class 5 product; running a wellness clinic is a Class 44 service. This product-versus-service distinction is the gateway to filing in the right class.
What Class 44 Covers
- Medical clinics, hospitals, and healthcare services
- Telehealth and telemedicine services
- Dentistry, orthodontics, and dental clinics
- Dermatology, cosmetic procedures, and med-spa services
- Physical therapy, chiropractic, and rehabilitation services
- Mental-health counseling, therapy, and psychology services
- Beauty salons, hair salons, nail salons, and barbershops
- Spas, massage, and wellness-treatment services
- Veterinary and animal-care services
- Agriculture, horticulture, gardening, and landscaping services
What it excludes is mostly products and adjacent service classes. Pharmaceuticals, supplements, and medical preparations are Class 5 products. Medical devices and instruments are Class 10. Fitness training and gyms are typically Class 41 (education/entertainment) rather than Class 44. And the business side of healthcare — medical billing, practice management, health-insurance administration — leans toward Class 35 or Class 36.
Boundary note: A med-spa is the classic multi-class business. The treatments (facials, laser, injectables performed as a service) are Class 44, any branded skincare products sold are Class 3 or Class 5, and the retail operation is Class 35. Filing only Class 44 leaves the product line exposed.
The Descriptiveness Problem in Healthcare Names
Healthcare and beauty service names face an unusually high refusal rate, for two reasons. First, founders gravitate to descriptive names that explain the service — "Family Dental Care," "Downtown Wellness Clinic," "Clear Skin Dermatology." These describe what the business does and where, and the USPTO routinely refuses them as merely descriptive or geographically descriptive. Second, condition-based and outcome-based names ("Pain Free Clinic," "Perfect Smile") edge toward descriptiveness or unsupported claims.
The healthcare sector has its own layered considerations — regulatory naming rules, professional licensing, and the FDA on the product side — which we cover in our guide on how to trademark a healthcare brand. For the trademark itself, the path through is distinctiveness: a more arbitrary, suggestive, or coined name clears far more easily than a literal description of the service.
Class 44 vs. Class 5 vs. Class 35
Three classes cluster around health and wellness businesses, and confusing them is the most common filing error:
- Class 44 — services: clinics, treatments, telehealth, salons, spas, therapy. What you do.
- Class 5 — products: drugs, supplements, medicated skincare, sanitizers. What you sell. See our Class 5 guide.
- Class 35 — business: retail of health products, practice management, advertising, and online stores.
A vertically integrated wellness brand can touch all three. The discipline is to map the brand to what it actually offers and file accordingly, rather than defaulting to a single class and hoping it stretches.
Notable Areas and Examples
Class 44 is dominated less by a handful of mega-brands and more by large healthcare systems, dental and dermatology chains, national salon and spa franchises, and the fast-growing telehealth sector. Telehealth in particular has driven a surge of Class 44 filings, as digital-first care brands register service names that did not exist a decade ago. Veterinary chains and corporate landscaping and lawn-care franchises round out the class on the animal and plant side.
Common Filing Mistakes
- Filing a product in Class 44: a skincare or supplement product belongs in Class 3 or Class 5, not Class 44.
- Descriptive and geographic names: the leading cause of refusals in healthcare and beauty.
- Missing the product class: service businesses that also sell branded goods need the relevant product class too.
- Putting fitness in Class 44: personal training and gym services are usually Class 41.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Class 44 and Class 5?
Class 44 covers medical, beauty, and wellness services — what a clinic, spa, or practitioner does for a patient or client. Class 5 covers products: pharmaceuticals, supplements, medicated preparations, and sanitary goods. A facial treatment is Class 44; the moisturizer used or sold is Class 3 or Class 5. Businesses that both treat and sell file in multiple classes.
What class is a med-spa in?
The treatment services — facials, laser, injectables, body treatments — are in Class 44. Any branded skincare products sold are Class 3 (cosmetic) or Class 5 (medicated), and the retail operation is Class 35. A med-spa that wants full protection typically files across Class 44 plus the relevant product and retail classes.
Is telehealth in Class 44?
Yes. Telehealth and telemedicine — providing medical consultations and care remotely — are services in Class 44. The software platform that delivers the service may additionally be protected in Class 9 or Class 42, so digital-first health brands often file Class 44 alongside a technology class.
Why was my clinic name refused as descriptive?
Because it describes the service, the specialty, or the location rather than identifying your specific practice. Names like "Family Dental Care," "City Wellness Clinic," or condition-based names tend to be refused as merely descriptive or geographically descriptive. A distinctive, non-literal name registers far more easily.
Search Class 44 Before You File
Healthcare, dental, and beauty service names cluster heavily by specialty and city, which makes clearance critical. Use tmarkmetric to browse registered Class 44 trademarks, see which clinic, spa, and wellness names are already taken, and search the broader registry before you invest in signage, a website, and patient-facing branding. Confirm the service class and any product classes you need up front.