Class 12 includes vehicles and apparatus for the transport of people, animals or goods by land, air or water. The term "transport" is significant since there are goods in other classes that could be deemed as providing transport when, in fact, that is not the primary purpose of the goods. For example, road sweeping machines and snow ploughs are in Cl. 7. Although these items move, their purpose is not transport but rather to perform a specific task. Furthermore, whilst mobile cranes belong to Cl. 7, trucks incorporating a crane are in Class 12 as they are still considered to be trucks. Conversely, bicycles are always in Class 12 and not in Cl. 28 because they provide transport even if that transport is for sports or for recreational purposes.
Another category of goods which belongs to Class 12 is drones, irrespective of their function or purpose. Drones are considered to be "apparatus for locomotion by air" and, as such, both civilian and military drones belong to Class 12, as well as camera drones and delivery drones. The only exception is "drones [toys]" which are in Cl. 28.
Goods which are considered to be parts of vehicles, or which are specially adapted only for use therewith, are classified in Class 12 along with vehicles. Examples of these types of goods include clips adapted for fastening automobile parts to automobile bodies, vehicle bonnet pins, head-rests for vehicle seats, lug nuts for vehicle wheels and rearview mirrors.
Motors and engines for land vehicles are classified in Class 12 but all other motors and engines, whether for machines or for other vehicles, are in Cl. 7. Couplings and transmission components are classified in the same way, i.e., those for land vehicles belong to Class 12 and those for other purposes belong to Cl. 7.
It should be noted, however, that not all parts of vehicles are in Class 12. Parts of motors or engines of all kinds, including parts of land vehicle motors, are in Cl. 7. The logic behind the classification of these goods is that motors for land vehicles are usually assembled by the vehicle manufacturer and should therefore be in the same class as land vehicles, namely, Class 12. Motor components, however, are usually made by a different manufacturer regardless of the kind of motor and therefore do not need to be classified in Class 12 even when they are for land vehicle motors.
There are other specific items that are not in Class 12 although they are associated with vehicles and apparatus for transport. This usually occurs when the item in question is not a structural part of the vehicle. Thus, goods such as locks for vehicles are classified according to material (in Cl. 6 or Cl. 20), mileage recorders and rearview cameras for vehicles are in Cl. 9, and lights for vehicles are in Cl. 11. The Alphabetical List should thus be consulted for classification of vehicle parts.