5 Ways to Conduct a Free Trademark Search BEFORE You Name Your Business

Does this scene sound familiar? Your sitting around a table, perhaps you are using a whiteboard, and you are brainstorming on a name for your business. (Hopefully by now you actually have a business, or at least a business idea). Someone calls out a potential name and the group reacts. Maybe there is also someone at a laptop checking the availability of domain names on the fly. “Nope, sorry it’s not available,” is answered with a chorus of groans. Finally, you find a name that fits your business and “Yep, it’s available!”  You quickly register the name, and there you go—business named. Again, sound familiar?

Flash forward a year and let’s say you’ve built a profitable business. One spring morning you get a letter in the mail from some big law firm you’ve never heard of in New York City. The letter states your business name is infringing on their client’s trademark and they demand that you cease using the name immediately. All of the sudden you get a sick feeling in your stomach as you think of the time and money you’ve spent building your brand.

This is bad, but it could get worse. In a worst case scenario where you are found guilty of trademark infringement you could find yourself paying the other side (1) profits you earned while using the infringing business name, (2) any damages you may have made to the other side’s name, and (3) attorneys fees. Worse still, if a court determines your infringement was “willful”, these dollar amounts may be tripled.

One step that is too often overlooked in the business naming process is the trademark search (and then of course the subsequent filing of trademarks). A trademark search is a search of all existing trademarks to determine whether or not your business name is available.

The internet is a great tool for conducting free trademark searches. Here are five great places to conduct a basic trademark search before naming your business: 

1. USPTO – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office allows you to search for all trademarks filed at the federal level. You can search for your exact business name as well as any derivatives.
2. State Level – You can also conduct a search at the state level. This can be done through the Secretary of State’s office in most states, (including Colorado).
3. Internet – Don’t underestimate the value of doing simple internet searches. You can check for your name, any derivatives, and any similar names. Check out GahooYoogle for doing side by side Google and Yahoo searches.
4. Online Phonebooks – Online yellow pages are also a great place to look for similar business names. SuperPages or Switchboard are great because they allow you to search for businesses with or without designating a particular city or state.
5. INURL Search – Finally, you can use Google’s advanced search operators to conduct searches like the “inurl:” search. If you type “inurl:[type business name here and remove brackets]” in your Google search bar, Google will return all indexed domains that contain your business name.

Certainly there are some limitations to the above approaches to a trademark search, however, as the old adage goes an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Also, just because a similar business name comes up in your search does not automatically mean your business name is unavailable. If you have questions regarding your results of your search or would like to conduct a more comprehensive search consult an attorney. Finally, for a general overview of trademark law, Harvard publishes a great overview available here.

**This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice**

Comments

[Shannon Moore]

Great post! You listed some very handy preliminary search sites that absolutely everyone should check out when naming their business. If you don't mind, I've got a couple to add to your list:

http://www.hoovers.com/free/ -- Free check of Hoover's
http://www.thomasnet.com/ -- Free check for industrial info, products & services

Of course, this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there. Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available.

Also, another issue many folks don't seem to realize is to look for similarities in Sound, Appearance or Meaning -- those things matter to the USPTO. So, check spelling variations, synonyms, word placement, etc.

Again, great post!