Why Trademark Searches Are More Complex Than You Think
People frequently contact us looking to trademark a name and state that they’ve done their own trademark search on the USPTO website and are certain that there are no conflicting marks. Often, when we go to draft the application there are other registered trademarks turned up in our search that would bar registration. The issue is that a proper trademark search is more than just typing in the exact spelling of your mark and clicking submit.
Trademark law requires that a new prospective trademark not be exactly identical to an already registered mark (which is where most do-it-yourselfers stop) but also that it not be confusingly similar. “Liklihood of confusion” is a fairly expansive legal concept and unless you’re willing to spend many hours learning trademark law (and how to conduct a proper trademark search), there’s a considerable risk that you would submit an application and $325 in non-refundable fees only to be denied registration. Not only do you need to know what to search for, you also need to have a deep enough understanding of trademark law to interpret the results.
We include a free search with every one of our trademark registration packages. If we turn up something that’s likely to bar the registration of your desired trademark, we’ll let you know before the app is submitted and work with you to either come up with a new name or refund your purchase.