Class 6 is one of the classes that includes unworked or semi-worked materials, namely, common metals and their alloys, and ores. It also includes finished goods that are classified according to material composition. In the Nice Classification, finished goods are in principle classified according to function or purpose. Goods that cannot be classified in this way are classified according to other criteria, like the material of which the goods are made (see General Remark (a) for Goods) and, if they are made of common metals, they belong to Class 6. Typical examples are figurines or statuettes. Because the function or purpose of these goods cannot be identified in any of the Class Headings or Explanatory Notes of the Classification, they are classified according to material composition in the different "materials classes", for example, in Class 6, Cl. 14, Cl. 16, Cl. 19, Cl. 20 or Cl. 21 if they are made, respectively, of common metals, precious metals, papier mâché, marble, plaster or porcelain.
Goods made of common metals should not be classified in Class 6 if they can be classified in other appropriate classes without reference to material composition (see the excluding Explanatory Note of Class 6 which specifically excludes "certain goods made of common metals that are classified according to their function or purpose"). For example, motors and engines should not be classified in Class 6 even though they are made primarily of metal because there is an appropriate class in the Classification for these goods, namely, Cl. 7 (or Cl. 12 if they are for land vehicles).
It should be noted that the goods in Class 6 are goods made of metal that do not perform a specific task; they are generally simple pieces of metal. Goods that perform a task belong to other classes, irrespective of material composition, such as machines in Cl. 7 and hand tools in Cl. 8.
For goods that belong to Class 6 when made of metal, a decision needs to be reached on where to classify the same goods when they are not made of metal. For example, metal materials for building and construction and small items of metal hardware are in Class 6 while materials for building and construction made of all materials other than metal are in Cl. 19 and small items of hardware that are not made of metal can be found in Cl. 20. Note that many of these items can have elements made both of metal and of other materials. In such cases, classification is dependent on the predominant material.
Transportable buildings and other structures of metal are also included in Class 6. This includes facilities such as swimming pools and skating rinks which are classified according to material composition, rather than by function.