Get your mark searched before you apply

The basic search is where we try to look for exact matches (or direct hits as we like to call them) in the federal database to see if someone else has already registered the same mark. However, in the comprehensive search, we do a thorough examination of all those marks that are exact or similar to your mark including the ones that are not registered.

Not really. Usually, mark owners with no federal or state registration are entitled with common law trademark rights simply by being the first to use the trademark in commerce. The owner of such marks can simply take action against you because they were the first ones to use the mark. However, it’s difficult to look out for common law trademarks. For that reason, we recommend our customers to opt for a comprehensive search that includes searches beyond state or federal registries, such as corporate names and names used on internet and social media platforms. To help you with this, we offer comprehensive search packages like the International and Federal, State & Common Law search.

You can find out whether a similar trademark already exists or not by performing a search on the TESS on the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website. This helps identify the exact matches that may or may not be present in the USPTO database.

However, the exact match search does not give you a result of any similar names that may be present in the database. It does not tell you if someone else already owns a mark in a related category which might prevent your application from being approved. It’s always better to opt for a more comprehensive search before applying for registration.

A Comprehensive trademark search requires access to several third-party databases that are not publicly accessible, as well as sophisticated, proprietary search software.

A preliminary trademark search is also known as an "exact match" or "knockout" search. This type of search finds names that are identical and names that differ by one or more letters from your desired trademark name.