Class 17 is one of the classes that includes unworked or semi-worked materials, namely, rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos and mica, as well as plastics and resins in extruded form for use in manufacture. 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 rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos or mica, they belong to Class 17. For example, window stops do not correspond to the functions or purposes listed in any of the Class Headings of the Classification and are thus classified in the corresponding "materials classes", namely, Class 17 if they are made of rubber, Cl. 6 if they are made of metal, and Cl. 20 if they are made of any other material.
Goods that provide insulation are in Class 17 even if they would be in other classes if not specified as being for insulation purposes. Examples of this are insulating paint, fabric and paper, which are all in Class 17 rather than the typical classes for those goods, namely, Cl. 2, Cl. 24 and Cl. 16, respectively.
Finally, flexible pipes, tubes and hoses that are not made of metal, such as connecting hoses for vehicle radiators or watering hoses, are also in Class 17. Rigid pipes, not of metal, for building are, however, in Cl. 19.