Natural extension of the brand
Why do we search against whole Classes, and not just the specific goods/services categories you are going to market with? The answer is an example of how complex trademark law is: goods and services that often don’t seem related at first glance can, in fact, cause problems. This is why we search against an entire Class, just so you're covered. When examined or litigated, seemingly unrelated goods that fall into the same class can be viewed as serious conflicts.
For example, if you want to register the name JOLT in association with "coffee" goods/services (Class 30), a pre-registered mark JOLT in association with "chewing gum" (Class 30) will trigger a 'Stop' rating. That's because, even though coffee and gum are different goods, they are both in Class 30. And it is reasonable to expect that a company that sells coffee - and deals with customers complaining about their morning coffee breath - might later want to use their mark in association with gum. These are similar types of goods (grocery items) found in the same type of store (coffee shop, supermarket). This is what is called a natural extension of the brand and can come into play, too, when we are evaluating your potential trademark's conflict risk.
