Trademark Search

Once a domain name has been selected, the next step is usually a trademark search. Although not required, a trademark search will allow you to know the extent of any use of your mark prior to filing. If already in use, you don't want to violate someone else's trademark rights. If a trademark has already been registered, you will not be able to use it for the same goods or services.

If you want unrestricted national trademark protection, you must determine the full extent of the use of the mark because a prior user of the mark could still have rights to use it. Because common law trademark rights can be established through use, a search is recommended to uncover any conflicts.

Should you infringe someone's trademark, you could be liable for damages and forced to stop using the mark. It's also possible that the trademark you want to register is already registered or in use by someone else! Trademark searches provide the information you need about the availability of your proposed mark and can save a lot of time and money in the future.

Knock-Out Search

A "knock-out" or "direct-hit" search is a search of the federal USPTO database for an exact match to your proposed trademark or service mark. This type of search can quickly and cost-effectively knock out a proposed name and save the time and expense of proceeding further.

Comprehensive Search

A comprehensive trademark search conducted by a professional search firm like DirectLegal will report on federally registered U.S. marks, pending marks and those that have been cancelled or abandoned. Also, state registrations are searched for the same or confusingly similar marks, various common law sources are searched for unregistered marks such as business names, trade names, domain names and others, plus a search of Canadian trademark databases.

Our rigorous techniques include searches not only for the same or confusingly similar marks, but for different variations or your proposed mark plus phonetic searches for those that may sound similar. We access millions of trademarks, brands, business names and domain names - updated daily. A comprehensive trademark search provides the information you need about the availability of your proposed mark and can save a lot of time and money in the future.

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