Effective 1 January 2026, the Kazakhstan Trade Mark Office (TMO) introduced supplementary official fees for trade mark applications listing more than 10 types of goods or services within a single Nice class. An additional fee applies to every single item exceeding that threshold.

Following this change, the TMO has adopted a more rigorous approach during formal examinations to ensure all claimed goods and services are properly identified and counted toward the final official fee calculation.

In practice, examiners are increasingly objecting to specifications that group multiple independent goods or services into a single entry. Broad or composite descriptions that combine several products, functions, or categories may be split up and counted as separate entries. Applicants may be required to list the terms separately, which can result in additional official fees.

Because this practice is still evolving, consistency across the TMO varies. Similar specifications may receive different objections depending on the examiner handling the application, making the outcome of formal examination somewhat unpredictable, particularly for applications containing lengthy or complex specifications.

To minimise delays and avoid surprise filing costs, applicants should carefully review their specifications before filing, particularly where a class covers multiple goods or services.