What is a Comprehensive Trademark Search and Why Do I Need One?
This blog is a part of my Ultimate Guide to Trademarks. Check it out for more info!
You finally did it. You settled on a trademark for your new business! Your new name is catchy. It’s easy to remember. It’s unique… or so you think. You did a quick google search and didn’t see anything else like it, and you were able to grab a related domain name. Score!
A lawyer friend asks if you did a trademark search, but you blew off the idea. After all, you’re a startup business. You don’t have any money to show for your new business, and there are so many other expenses!
What do you do? You dive in, full speed ahead, all systems go. You hire a graphic designer and brand strategist, spend thousands on branding and website design, spend many more thousands on marketing and ads for social media. And, of course, you package all of your products with your incredible new brand identity. Slowly but surely, your products hit the marketplace, and you begin to grow. After a year? You are killing it!
But then one day, just as the road in front of you becomes a lot less rocky and a little more smooth, you get hit with the dreaded cease and desist letter. You’re infringing on someone else’s mark. And you had absolutely no idea. Where did you go wrong?
In the vast realm of business branding, the name you choose for your product or service stands as a beacon, signifying your brand’s identity and promise. But what if this name, which you may have thoughtfully selected and even grown attached to, has already been claimed or bears an uncanny resemblance to another? The implications could range from mere confusion in the market to hefty legal repercussions. This underscores the significance of ensuring your chosen brand name is both unique and legally safe to use. How does one achieve this assurance? Enter the world of comprehensive trademark searches.
What is a Comprehensive Trademark Search?
Navigating the world of trademarks can be complex, especially when determining the uniqueness and viability of your chosen mark. This is where a comprehensive trademark search comes into play.
At first glance, one might think, “Why not just Google it?” Well, a comprehensive trademark search delves deeper than a simple Google search. It offers a multifaceted approach, ensuring you’re not just in the clear for federal registration in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) but also safe from infringement claims.
A comprehensive search first scours all records of the PTO. It uncovers any federal applications or registrations that might be too similar to your proposed mark. Using the example of “Helping Mankind” for a clothing brand, the search will explore various combinations and permutations, such as “helping,” “mankind,” and “helping kind” in connection with all goods and services, ensuring there’s no direct impediment to your registration. This broad search tells business owners whether there are any applications or registrations that are identical or similar to your proposed mark within the PTO. The search results thus help you determine the level of risk inherent in filing your trademark application.
However, not all trademarks are federally registered. Some might exist at the state level or as common law marks – trademarks not yet registered but in use. These marks may not be in the PTO database and thus wouldn’t bar your application, but they would help determine if your proposed mark would infringe upon another trademark already in use. It is imperative to analyze the total landscape when selecting a new brand name. Therefore, our comprehensive search isn’t limited to just the federal PTO database, It also explores trademark registrations and applications in all 50 states and dives deep into business directories, domain name databases, and more. It aims to identify any entity using a similar or identical mark, even if they haven’t initiated the formal registration process.
Do I Need a Comprehensive Trademark Search?
The ultimate goal is clarity. With a comprehensive search, you’ll know if your chosen mark is truly unique or if it bears too close a resemblance to another. With the insights from such a search, you can make an informed decision about the very identity of your brand – its name. After all, you wouldn’t want to invest time and resources in a brand identity only to face potential legal battles down the line. Are there legal costs involved to conduct a comprehensive trademark search? Certainly. But the costs of having a trademark attorney conduct a comprehensive search for your proposed mark are negligible compared to the money you will have to spend to completely rebrand if your mark infringes on another brand.
In essence, a comprehensive trademark search is like a safety net. It ensures that one of the most critical aspects of your business – its name – stands unique, strong, and free from potential infringement. Without this search, you risk unknowingly treading on another brand’s territory, which could have dire consequences for your business.
