Free Preliminary Trademark Search and Consultation
What you will get:
Trademark Search – A preliminary opinion about the registrability of your trademark
Free consultation with a trademark professional
A clear idea of whether you should move forward with your trademark
Should I do a trademark search?
Trademark search is one of the most important and overlooked aspects of trademark registration process. The purpose of a search is to check if the brand you selected is available for use and registration. We offer basic, i.e. identical marks or very similar marks search for free. A comprehensive search is included with the purchase of any of our packages. Basic search takes about 10 minutes by a qualified professional and a comprehensive search takes about 1-2 hours to complete. Please that basic is more detailed than simply a direct hit search you can do yourself in any Trademark Office database.
Without a proper search, another company may prevent you from using the mark you selected if such use will create trademark confusion in the marketplace.
We have written an article about the importance of a trademark registration search.
Read our full article here.
How do you do a trademark search?
We have paid subscription to professional trademark search software. It’s called “Corsearch”. We offer comprehensive trademark research with the purchase of any of our packages.
According to the World Trademark Review survey, Corsearch ranked #1 in the trademark search category receiving an 8.05 score overall but also ranked #1 in the relevance of records received (7.88), #1 in usability and delivery timing of reports (8.41), and #1 in linguistic capability (7.65). Finally, Corsearch led among all providers in the likelihood that the practitioners surveyed would recommend them to colleagues, with an 8.27 score.
We use Corsearch to provide the best service to our clients and the most accurate results. So all our trademark searches are done with the Corsearch platform.
Corsearch allows searching phonetic equivalents and vowel substitutions. In addition, Corsearch can catch foreign language issues.
We check relevant Trademark Office databases to find the closest marks and check how they are used in the marketplace.
Once we generate a report, we do manual analysis and provide assessment of the registrability of your trademark together with our suggestions how to improve your chances of achieving registration.
Please note that for China, Mexico, India and Germany we rely on our associate to do a trademark search. We offer free identical searches in China, Mexico, India and Germany but similar trademarks search is $200 and it’s not included in our packages.
***Please try to be as specific as possible when listing your products. We need to know the actual products in order to do a proper research and determine your trademark reliability.
Examples:
“Home products” or “household products” is too broad. Kitchen appliances, tableware, kitchen pots is specific enough.
“Bath products” is unclear. Bath towels, cleaning preparations, shower mats is good.
“Baby products” is too broad and vague. We need to know what they are. For example, baby clothing, baby diapers, baby bibs, rattle toys, baby food, baby blankets is what we need.
“Garden products” is too vague. Please specify what they are, i.e. fertilizers, spades, flower seeds, waters hoses, garden tools, garden lights.
“Cosmetics” is acceptable. “Vitamins and supplements” is acceptable. “Computer software” is acceptable for the search. “Hair care preparations” and “jewerly” are also sufficiently specific.
If you are a consultant or coach, please explain the nature of your services and who your target clients are.
Can a trademark registration search guarantee that your mark will be registered? Please continue reading to find out!
Why a trademark search is never 100% accurate and more about comprehensive trademark searches
Although a trademark search is handy and necessary to determine if a mark is registrable, the risk and challenge are never eliminated. A comprehensive examination may uncover exclusively some potentially conflicting defects for several reasons.
In the United States or Canada, a newcomer to the search process might expect that it would suffice to check only the records of the USPTO or CIPO. However, one must rely on more than just a Trademark Office database search since registration is unnecessary to obtain trademark rights in the United States or Canada.
Many valid trademarks exist in common law without appearing on the trademark register.
Thus, in addition to checking the Trademark Office database, one should check the Internet and different marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify, and company databases, looking for the use of unregistered marks.
Searching common-law marks is not easy and is never cheap since no single source lists every unregistered mark in current use in the United States or Canada. Many potential sources of information could be searched for, and it is not economical to try to explore them all. By way of example, a complete search in the U.S. will cost you $1500.
Additionally, one can only expect some sources to provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information when the search is conducted because every database has its limits.
The Trademarks Office database, whether Canadian or U.S., is only partially up to date because a time lag exists between the time an application is filed and the time it appears in the search database (the delay is about 7-days). Therefore, recently submitted applications will not appear in a trademark search, even though the lag may be only a few days long.
Also, foreign applicants may obtain an effective U.S. (or Canadian) filing date six months earlier than the actual filing date if they claim priority from the filing date in their native country.
That means there is always a risk that a foreign entity may file in the U.S. or Canada and claim priority from the initial filing date in a foreign country. A search will only reveal a trademark that has yet to be filed. This means you could file an application for the mark thinking it’s registrable, only to have a foreign applicant “jump the line” with a belated application based on an earlier foreign filing date.
Trademarks Office databases are also only sometimes accurate. A system can time out so your search will uncover only some results. A trademark may also be incorrectly indexed, so a confusingly similar brand may not even appear in a trademark search.
Even if the databases were entirely up to date, searching would still be an imperfect science. Trademarks do not always follow established spelling, grammar, construction, punctuation, or meaning rules.
Misspellings, wordplay, unusual constructions, creative punctuation, and other inventive variations are commonplace, creating unexpected pitfalls for searchers.
For all these reasons, it is possible to perform diligently and evaluate a search and conclude that a mark is available when, in fact, a direct conflict may exist, hidden from view.
Here are a few examples:
You may search for DONUT for advertising services, and the search is straightforward. However, you will not know that there is a foreign equivalent trademark in French – BEIGNET and although not identical, this mark may present a severe challenge. In Canada, one must search for French equivalents. In the U.S., under the doctrine of foreign equivalents, words in other languages are translated into English and are tested for the likelihood of confusion.
It’s not possible to search for all synonyms. For example, if you’re searching for WALKING DOGS, you may not find STROLLING PETS, and this mark, although not the same, maybe confusingly similar. A trademark search for LADY VET may not show trademark search results for MADAM PET DOCTOR.
Finding different spelling is also challenging. If you search for EXTRAVAGANZA, you may not find EXTRAVAGANZA; if you search for VAGABOND, you may miss BAGPOND. A trademark search for QUICK (Q-U-I-C-K) may not uncover Quick: KWIK, KWIX, QUIK, and a trademark search for EASY may not uncover E-Z, EZEE EEZY, EASI.
Trademark Angel uses a Corsearch searching system, which allows a search for phonetic equivalents and vowel substitution. Once a trademark search is done, all the data can be organized according to relevance.
In addition, it’s critically important to search for suitable classes. Omitting a course may result in missing an important trademark. Searching for a broader classification than the actual filing is advisable to catch all possible conflicts.
Even so, no search is 100% accurate. That’s why we always advise our clients to check the Internet, marketplaces, and social media use and ask us to do a trademark search. For social media search, we recommend you use namechk.com, which will allow you to check all domain names and social media usernames – all at once. Coupled with a proper Trademark Office database search, you will have a pretty good idea if your trademark is registrable.
Since a search cannot eliminate the risk, the realistic goal is to eliminate as much risk as possible. This is why it’s advisable, in addition to doing your due diligence, to go to experts, such as Trademark Angel, a trademark registration firm with over 25 years of experience in trademarks.