What are the benefits of a trademark search?
A comprehensive trademark search provides you with full clearance to make sure your mark is available for use and registration with the USPTO. Contrary to popular belief, filing a trademark application with the USPTO does not mean that the mark you intend to trademark is available for registration, or that it does not infringe on an existing mark. In fact, it is possible to register your trademark only to discover later that your mark infringes on a pre-registered mark. This can be a costly mistake down the road and be detrimental to your brand. It can also potentially leave your intellectual property unprotected.
Due to these risks, an extensive trademark search is your best bet to prevent missteps and one of the most critical choices when protecting your brand. You should never trust a DIY trademark search.
What is a conflicting trademark?
A trademark conflict applies not only identical registered marks, but also confusingly similar marks. To better explain what that means, a properly conducted trademark search would be looking to identify not only design similarities, similar names, similar colors and layout, but also font usage, punctuation, spacing and phonetics. For this reason, it is not recommended that you attempt to do a DIY trademark search. Using a trademark attorney or a more affordable trademark search service will give you significantly more thorough and reliable results.
Why conduct a trademark search with MyCorporation?
MyCorporation's trademark search is comprehensive. It looks for similar marks in use throughout the United States, using multiple search strategies and examines numerous tradmark databases to find similar text and logos. It can provide you with information regarding federally registered or pending marks, marks that are registered or pending on a state level, as well as common law marks. Don't file a trademark registration application only to have it rejected because another conflicting mark already exists. Start the Trademark Search process with us today.
Does a trademark search tell me definitively if a mark is available?
While trademark searches can provide extensive information regarding other marks that may be in use in commerce, and the status of those marks (i.e., registered, pending or abandoned), searches do not provide definitive answers as to whether a trademark can be registered with the USPTO. An Examiner at the USPTO must examine the trademark to determine availability for use and registration. The Examiner will evaluate whether the mark conflicts with a previously existing mark and/or whether it is sufficient to meet the minimum requirements to become a federally registered trademark.
How does a logo trademark search work?
When we begin to examine your mark, we first need to find out if there are any conflicting or any confusingly similar marks already registered in the trademark database. To do this, design search codes are assigned to every significant element of your design that is not a word. Any component of your mark that too closely resembles another and is likely to be rejected by the USPTO will be identified.