Trademark Searches
One of the first steps in selecting a company name or a product or service name is to perform a trademark search. It is important to pair the selection of your company name, product or service name or tagline with a proper trademark search to avoid issues that can arise if you do not. The trademark search is a crucial step that many people skip over because they do not realize the repercussions of ignoring this step.
The trademark search process is relatively simple but should not be skipped.
Here are a few steps we recommend:
- Identify several possible brand names that you are interested in for your product or service
- Request BLTG to perform a preliminary search to help narrow the list of brands
- From the narrower list you select the brand that is your top pick for registering with the USPTO
- We then perform a comprehensive trademark search to ensure you are making a good decision
A properly performed and documented trademark search can help you avoid treble damages should you ever be sued for trademark infringement.
Because some trademark owners do not register their trademark it can be difficult to know whether or not you are infringing a third party trademark. That is where a search can help.
Before investing thousands of dollars in signage, business cards, product packaging and other branded materials, you should meet with a trademark attorney and make sure you take the steps necessary early in your branding process to avoid infringing a pre-existing trademark. A simple Google search is a great first step but is certainly not sufficient.
The best time to perform a search is when you are first brainstorming names. In other words, when you are first selecting a company name, a product name or service name, or a business tagline, you should enlist the assistance of a trademark attorney to perform a search.
The best approach is to start with a preliminary search or a knockout search. Identify several brand names of interest to you and then reach out to us to help you perform a preliminary or knockout search. The goal here is to make good decisions in narrowing your list of brand names but not spend too much money. Once we narrow it down to one or two trademarks that appear to be available without issues of infringing another party’s trademark rights, we then perform a more comprehensive trademark search. We want to make sure you are selecting a trademark that has a high probability of being registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and not being opposed by a preexisting trademark owner. We also want to ensure the mark you select is distinctive.
We have established relationships with several of the best trademark search companies for performing a search in the United States and abroad, and we can get discounts on the searches due to the volume of searches we order. We also know how to review the lengthy search reports in an efficient manner to help guide you in your branding decisions.
Contact Us
for a free consultation to get started on the process of selecting a brand or trademark.
512-920-1899