Trademark Search

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To avoid wasting time or getting into costly trademark conflicts trying to register a federal trademark that is already in use or registered, start by conducting a thorough trademark search before you apply for registration, to make sure the mark you want to register is available.

Trademark Search — Avoid Costly Trademark Conflicts by Performing a Trademark Search with us.

A comprehensive trademark search helps you evaluate the availability of the trademark you wish to register and can prevent costly trademark conflicts. Our Comprehensive Trademark Service includes various search options such as: federal trademark search, state trademark search, common law trademark search, federal and state trademark search, and also international trademark search.

All you have to do is fill out a simple questionnaire and we will make sure you save time and money and avoid trademark conflicts by thoroughly evaluating the availability of your trademark. We conduct the research and prepare a comprehensive report which you can consult in your account. Search trademarks now, before beginning the trademark registration process. Avoid losing time and money and make sure your registration process is a success.

First you fill-in our easy-to-understand questionnaire
Then we conduct a comprehensive trademark search for you
And finally we prepare a comprehensive easy-to-understand and evaluate report and upload it to your account for review

A comprehensive search will tell you if marks similar to yours are in use by businesses (even if they are not registered) or even already registered with the USPTO. Such similar trademarks that can be confused with yours might affect your ability to use, register and protect your trademark.

USPTO considers a trademark conflict in the situation when one trademark presents confusingly similar characteristic with another one which is registered and/or being used by another business in commercial activity. In determining if there is a trademark conflict between two or more trademarks, USPTO uses two main criteria:

The degree of similarity between the trademarks
The connection between the products and/or services represented by the trademarks

The main factor taken into consideration is if two trademarks are similar enough to create confusion in the mind of the consumer. In the case of two trademarks that are similar, but which are being used for unrelated products or services, they might both be allowed to be registered.

Not always, and the main reason is that a business might have “common law” trademark rights because they are the first to use it in commercial activity, even if they haven’t registered the trademark at a state or federal level. Because someone who has used the trademark in commerce before and therefore has common law rights can challenge your right to register the mark, it is better to check registered corporate names and the Internet also, and to avoid resuming your search to state and federal registries.
There are 45 trademark classes including 34 trademark classes for goods and 11 classes for services that are being used by the USPTO to classify trademarks. Choosing the right classes is not easy since the affiliation is not always clear from the name of the class. Once you have chosen the classes for the product and services your trademark will protect and you apply your request for registration, the classes can no longer be changed and your trademark will protect only the products and services you have included in your application. Make sure you know exactly what classes you need to include. Find out more about trademark classes.

When you choose trademark classes you need to make sure:

1) You have chosen the right trademark classes for your products and services, because otherwise your application might not be accepted,

2) You have chosen all the suitable product and service classes, because once you have applied for registration you cannot change the name or switch between classes.

You also need to make sure there are no other similar trademarks already in use or registered. For a comprehensive trademark search, you can use the “trademark identification manual” available online, to help you find the right trademark classes. If you need more information on trademark research and choosing the right trademark classes, contact us by email or phone.

Generally your search should cover common law sources, like the Internet, and U.S. Federal and State trademark registers.

A trademark search should start with a screening or knock-out, also known as a preliminary search. The second stage is clearance, when a full search should be conducted.

The purpose of the preliminary search is to knock out possible conflicting trademarks and to narrow your list of potential options. Conducted usually by a trademark counsel, within an internal law department or by an outside trademark counsel, this research includes an on-line search of common law uses, federal and state trademark registers.

The purpose of the full search is to create the basis for the final clearance of your trademark. It is usually conducted on the best options left after the preliminary search and involves checking multiple permutations of your mark against common law (including Internet), U.S. state and federal databases.

Yes. Before choosing a domain name, you need to know if, and in what context your trademark is being used on the Internet and if it is available as domain name. Somebody else may have used your trademark as a domain name for products or services related to yours. You also need to take into consideration that many people are searching for a website using the trademark, and if somebody else is using your trademark as domain name, even for unrelated products, this might create confusion.

Even though a trademark search might seem easy to conduct, in evaluating a full search you often need professional counsel to avoid mistakes. There are a few factors to take into consideration when conducting a full trademark search that are much easier evaluated by an expert in trademark law such as: strength and likelihood of confusion, problems associated with the trademark being used as a business name, the effect of minor alterations and if further investigation is needed.

An expert in trademark law is the most suitable person to determine the availability and registrability of your trademark and how protectable it is depending on its strength and number of similar trademarks.

Your next step is to file a U.S. Federal Trademark Application.