NICE Class 15 covers musical instruments, their parts and accessories, plus music stands and conductors' batons. It is a goods class defined by one clear test: things that produce music. In Nepal — home to traditional instruments like the madal, sarangi and bansuri — you register a Class 15 trademark with the Department of Industry, and protection covers only the class you file in. The key line: instruments that make sound are Class 15, but apparatus that records or reproduces sound is Class 9.
Key Takeaways
- Class 15 is the musical-instruments class — instruments that produce music, plus their parts and accessories.
- It includes traditional, acoustic, electric and electronic instruments, and components like strings, reeds and pedals.
- The defining line: producing music is Class 15, but recording, amplifying or reproducing sound is Class 9.
- It excludes effects units, mixers, subwoofers and metronomes (Class 9), and printed sheet music (Class 16).
- Nepal's traditional-instrument makers and music retailers file in Class 15.
- Register with the Department of Industry for a renewable 7-year term.
What does Trademark Class 15 cover?
Class 15 covers musical instruments; music stands and stands for musical instruments; and conductors' batons. The unifying idea is instruments that produce music and the parts and accessories made for them. It includes traditional and acoustic instruments, electric and electronic instruments, mechanical instruments and musical boxes, and components such as strings, reeds, pegs, pedals, tuning forks and rosin (colophony) for stringed instruments.
Full list of goods in Class 15
Below is the complete alphabetical list of Class 15 goods indications from the WIPO NICE Classification (13-2026 edition) — 98 entries in total. Use it to find the exact wording for your specification when you file in Nepal:
- Accordions
- Bagpipes
- Balalaikas [stringed musical instruments]
- Bamboo flutes
- Bandonions
- Banjos
- Barrel organs
- Basses [musical instruments]
- Bellows for musical instruments
- Bow nuts for musical instruments
- Bows for musical instruments
- Bridges for musical instruments
- Buccins [trumpets]
- Carillons [musical instruments]
- Cases for musical instruments
- Castanets
- Catgut for musical instruments
- Chin rests for violins
- Clarionets
- Clarions
- Colophony for stringed musical instruments / rosin for stringed musical instruments
- Concertinas
- Conductors' batons
- Cornets [musical instruments]
- Cymbals
- Double basses
- Drum machines
- Drumheads / skins for drums
- Drums [musical instruments]
- Drumsticks
- Electronic musical instruments
- Flutes
- Gongs
- Guitars
- Handbells [musical instruments]
- Harmonicas
- Harmoniums
- Harp strings
- Harps
- Hats with bells [musical instruments]
- Horns [musical instruments]
- Horsehair for bows for musical instruments
- Huqin [Chinese violins]
- Intensity regulators for mechanical pianos
- Jews' harps [musical instruments]
- Kettledrum frames
- Kettledrums
- Keyboards for musical instruments
- Keys for musical instruments
- Lyres
- Mallets for musical instruments
- Mandolins
- Melodicas
- Mouthpieces for musical instruments
- Music rolls
- Music stands
- Music synthesizers
- Musical boxes
- Musical instruments
- Musical instruments for children
- Mutes for musical instruments / dampers for musical instruments
- Oboes
- Ocarinas
- Organs
- Pedals for musical instruments
- Pegs for musical instruments
- Perforated music rolls
- Piano keyboards
- Piano keys
- Piano strings
- Pianos
- Pipa [Chinese guitars]
- Plectrums / picks for stringed instruments
- Reeds
- Robotic drums
- Saxophones
- Sheng [Chinese musical wind instruments]
- Singing bowls
- Stands for musical instruments
- Sticks for bows for musical instruments
- Straps for musical instruments
- Stringed musical instruments
- Strings for musical instruments
- Suona [Chinese trumpets]
- Tambourines
- Tom-toms
- Triangles [musical instruments]
- Trombones
- Trumpets
- Tuning forks
- Tuning hammers
- Turning apparatus for sheet music
- Valves for musical instruments
- Violas
- Violins
- Wind pipes for organs
- Xylophones
- Zithers
What Class 15 does not include
The big divide is between producing music (Class 15) and handling sound electronically (Class 9). Note these exclusions:
| Product | Correct class |
|---|---|
| Effects units, wah-wah pedals, audio interfaces | Class 9 |
| Audio mixers, equalisers, subwoofers | Class 9 |
| Metronomes and juke boxes | Class 9 |
| Downloadable music files and digital sheet music | Class 9 |
| Printed sheet music | Class 16 |
| Musical greeting cards | Class 16 |
The rule of thumb: if it produces music, it is Class 15; if it records, amplifies, processes or reproduces sound, it is Class 9; and printed music is Class 16.
Who files in Class 15 in Nepal?
Class 15 has a proud place in Nepal's musical heritage. It is filed by traditional-instrument makers — the craftspeople who build madals, sarangis and bansuris — modern instrument manufacturers and importers, and music shops that build a house brand. For a workshop known for a particular instrument, a registered trademark protects the name against copycats trading on its craft reputation. Confirm your class with the NICE Class Finder.
How to register a trademark in Class 15
Search the register for earlier instrument marks, confirm Class 15 fits (and that audio equipment isn't really Class 9), prepare your mark and specification, and file with the Department of Industry. It examines, publishes for the 90-day opposition window, and registers for a renewable 7-year term. See how to register a trademark in Nepal and how to search first.
Do you need more than one class?
Sometimes. An instrument business might file in Class 15 for the instruments and add Class 9 for amplifiers and audio gear, or Class 41 if it offers music lessons. Because Nepal files one class per application with per-class fees, map your range first. See choosing the right class, and the neighbouring Class 14 (Jewellery & Watches) and Class 16 (Paper & Stationery).
A Nepal example
Take a madal workshop that has built its name over decades. The madals, sarangis and other instruments it crafts are Class 15, where its brand belongs. But if it also sells amplifiers or pickups for electric performance, those are Class 9, and if it runs music classes, that teaching is a Class 41 service. One heritage instrument brand can span Class 15 for instruments, Class 9 for audio gear, and Class 41 for lessons — filing only in Class 15 leaves the audio and teaching sides unprotected. For a craft workshop, the Class 15 filing guards the name that carries its reputation.
Getting Class 15 right: common mistakes
The defining Class 15 mistake is the produce-versus-reproduce line. An electric guitar is Class 15, but the amplifier, effects pedal, mixer or subwoofer that shapes and reproduces its sound is Class 9. Brands that sell both often file everything in one class by mistake. A second common error is filing sheet music in Class 15: printed music is Class 16, and downloadable music files are Class 9.
A third pitfall is metronomes and tuners: a tuning fork is a Class 15 accessory, but an electronic metronome or tuner is Class 9. Specify the actual instruments and parts you make rather than claiming the whole heading, so your Class 15 registration is precise, and add Class 9 or Class 41 where your business genuinely extends into audio gear or teaching.
Why precise Class 15 filing matters
For a craft instrument maker, the name embodies generations of skill, so a precise registration protects real heritage value. Naming your goods — "traditional drums", "stringed instruments" — makes the application easier to register and clearer to enforce, and keeps the boundary clean against Class 9 audio equipment. Because Nepal is first-to-file, the date you lodge secures your priority, which matters when a respected craft name attracts imitators. An early, accurate Class 15 filing turns a workshop's reputation into a defensible brand.
In short
Class 15 is the musical-instruments class — anything that produces music, from a madal to an electric guitar, plus parts and accessories. The one test to remember is produce versus reproduce: instruments are Class 15, but amplifiers, effects and mixers that handle sound are Class 9, and printed music is Class 16. Get that right, name your real goods, and file early, and your Class 15 registration will protect a craft name built over generations.
Class 15 filing checklist
- Confirm your product produces music — audio gear that reproduces sound is Class 9.
- Check the exclusions — Class 9 audio and files, Class 16 printed music.
- Search the register for similar instrument marks.
- Draft a precise goods specification.
- Add Class 9 or Class 41 where your range extends there.
- File with the Department of Industry and track to registration.
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Register your Class 15 trademark
Protect your instrument or music brand. Find your class with the NICE Class Finder, screen with the Conflict Checker, then register your trademark with our team. Talk to an IP expert if your range spans instruments, audio gear and music lessons.
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