Search Millions of Trademarks for Free

Conducting a search of your mark before starting the registration process may help avoid obvious duplications of pre-existing marks and the expenditure of nonrefundable applications fees.

Newer companies may more easily make name changes while they are getting off the ground than years later and after substantial investment in a brand and associated goodwill.

Running searches with the USPTO does not guarantee superior rights to a particular mark. There could be someone already using a similar mark, but who did not register it with the USPTO. In that case, a registration could be subject to challenge by the owner of the earlier-used mark based on of common law trademark rights.

Federal trademark registration can provide benefits beyond simply using a brand name in the marketplace. A registered owner may use the ® symbol, use the U.S. registration as a basis for seeking protection in other countries, and record the registration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to help address certain infringing imports.

Registration can also provide a legal presumption of ownership and the right to use the mark for the listed goods or services.

No. You do not need to have a federally registered trademark before launching a product. If you have a genuine intention to use a brand name in commerce but have not launched yet, you may be able to file an intent-to-use trademark application.

The trademark cannot complete registration on that basis until you later show qualifying use of the mark in commerce and submit the required filing to the USPTO.

Search the USPTO trademark database and review both registered marks and pending applications. Do not look only for an identical spelling. A potentially conflicting trademark may be similar in sound, appearance, meaning, or overall commercial impression.

You should also compare the goods or services connected with each mark, since related products or services can affect whether two marks are considered confusingly similar.

You can check federal trademarks through the USPTO's Trademark Search system. When reviewing a result, look beyond the trademark name and check its status, owner, associated goods or services, and application or registration details.

Individual search results can also be reviewed through the USPTO's Trademark Status and Document Retrieval system for additional information about the record.

Start with the name you want to use, then broaden your search to include spelling variations, similar-sounding words, and marks that could create a similar overall impression. An identical-name search alone may miss relevant trademarks.

The USPTO considers similarities in appearance, sound, meaning, and commercial impression when assessing potential conflicts, along with how closely related the goods or services are.

A brand name is not necessarily unavailable simply because another business uses the same or a similar name. Trademark conflicts also depend on factors such as the similarity of the marks and the relationship between their goods or services.

For a broader check, search federal trademark records as well as state trademark databases, business-name records, and online sources that may reveal brands using a name without a federal registration.