If you own a business, you’re likely familiar with trademark law. This law allows you to prevent your competitors from copying the designs, words, and symbols you use to describe your business, services, or products. However, trademark law also works the other way: if you infringe on someone else’s intellectual property, you risk facing all sorts of legal issues.
The best way to ensure you’re not breaking this law is to do a trademark search every time you want to adopt a new brand name or register a new trademark. Here’s how trademark search works and how to conduct it.
How a Trademark Search Works
A trademark search allows you to find out whether a trademark you want to register is available. The simplest way to do that is to head to the USPTO website, https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/, and search for your trademark name. However, even if the name you enter appears to be available, you may not be able to register it. Once you apply for your trademark, the USPTO will do its own evaluation, which is more thorough. One of the major tests in determining whether you are potentially infringing on the mark is “likelihood of confusion.”
If you want to avoid this potential issue, it’s best to invest in a professional trademark search preferably through an attorney who understands how to evaluate the search results.. A directed trademark search through an attorney may set you back about $500-$1,000, whereas a more detailed search may cost you up to a few thousand dollars. The exact cost will depend on factors such as analyzing what goods and/or services you intend to use your mark in associate with, geographical scope, the nature of your trademark and evaluation of the class or even classes where it should be registered, and the associated services.
When to Conduct a Trademark Search
The ideal time to conduct a trademark search is: right away. As soon as you get an idea for a business name or product that may offer current or future economic value, you should confirm that nobody else had that idea before you. Doing a trademark search may also provide insight into the past and current uses of relevant trademarks proposed by other businesses.
At the very least, you should conduct a trademark search before applying to register your trademark. The cost of filing an application is between $225-$400, so it doesn’t make much sense to go through with it if there’s a decent chance you’ll be rejected.
How to Conduct a Trademark Search
To do a trademark search, head to the USPTO trademark database and select Basic Word Mark Search. Then, find out if anyone else is currently using you’re the same exact or something similar to your brand, name, or logo. If there are no matches, you should have an easier time registering a federal trademark. If you get some matches, it’s worth having them analyzed by an attorney to evaluate the risk in tandem with the possible costs that you may incur to eventually register the mark you have an interest in.
In general, any listings with a “live” status that are classified in the same industry as yours will prevent you from registering your trademark. In this situation, it’s likely worth considering rebranding your business/service or hiring an IP attorney for professional advice.