What the Vienna Classification Is
The Vienna Classification (established by the 1973 Vienna Agreement and maintained by WIPO) is an international system for categorizing the figurative elements of trademarks — in other words, the visual content of logos and design marks. If your mark contains a star, an eagle, a crown, a stylized letter, or a geometric shape, the Vienna system has a numeric code for each of those elements.
The codes are organized into categories, divisions, and sections. For example, celestial bodies, human beings, animals, plants, and geometric figures each have their own category. A single logo can receive several Vienna codes, one for each distinct design element it contains. This is why a design mark behaves so differently from a word mark — see how to trademark a logo for the wider picture.
What "Sent to Vienna for Codification" Means
If you check your application status in the USPTO's TSDR system and see that your mark was "sent to Vienna for codification," it simply means a USPTO specialist (or a coding unit) is in the process of assigning Vienna design codes to your figurative mark. It is a normal, behind-the-scenes administrative step that happens for design marks.
This status is not a rejection, an Office Action, or a sign of trouble. No response is required from you. It is purely the USPTO indexing what your logo depicts so the mark can be searched by its visual elements.
Vienna Codes vs Nice Classes
People often confuse the two systems because both involve "classification," but they answer completely different questions:
- Nice Classification — describes your goods and services (Class 25 for clothing, Class 42 for software, and so on). This determines your scope of protection and your fees.
- Vienna Classification — describes what your mark looks like (the design elements). This is purely a search and indexing tool and has no effect on your fees or scope.
Why It Matters
Vienna codes are how examiners and trademark searchers find visually similar logos. When an examiner reviews a new design mark for conflicts, they can search by Vienna code to surface earlier marks that contain the same visual elements — a specific animal, a particular shape — even if the brand names are entirely different. So the codification step quietly supports the conflict-checking that protects design marks. Only marks with a figurative element go through it; a plain word mark in standard characters has nothing to codify and skips the step.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "sent to Vienna for codification" mean on my trademark?
It means a USPTO specialist is assigning Vienna Classification design codes to the figurative elements of your logo or design mark. It is a routine internal step, not a refusal, and requires no response from you.
Is "sent to Vienna" a problem with my application?
No. It is a normal administrative status for design marks. The USPTO is simply indexing what your mark depicts so it can be searched by its visual elements.
What is the difference between Vienna codes and Nice classes?
Nice classes describe your goods and services and determine your protection and fees. Vienna codes describe the visual design elements of your mark and are used only for searching. They are separate systems.
Do word marks get Vienna codes?
No. Only marks with a figurative or design element receive Vienna codes. A plain word mark in standard characters has no design to codify, so it skips this step.