In company marketing, trademark registrations serve as one of the strongest legal defences for brand asset protection. But before registration, there has to be a trademark look-up to check if there are other pre-existing marks that can legally block yours.
Understanding Trademark Lookup
A trademark lookup refers to searching databases of registered trademarks to determine if there are competing trademarks that can be admitted for registration. This is research made for the purpose of avoiding use of a trademark that, on first impression, appears to be unobtainable but in fact is prohibitively restrictive in its scope.
Why is Trademark Lookup Important?
- Avoid Legal Conflicts: The moment you append a mark that is trademarked, you have registered yourself within a world of legal troubles. More likely than not, your registration contradicts an existing trademark, which legally precludes you from staking claim to a trademark in question.
- Ensure Brand Uniqueness: While trademarks are being registered, there is an assurance that there will be no confusion or collision with name, logo, or slogan, so trademarks bring in greater advantages and fewer restrictions regarding identifications.
- Save Time and Resources: For an aggressive trademark, disputes before applying for the trademark save a lot of time and, in other situations, money spent in the defence phase.
- Strengthen Brand Protection: Trademarks aid in the invention of new partnerships or traffic when compared to the obstacles existing in other forms of identifiers. Trects not only add a more defined protection mark but also actively support the ones bound to your business.
Steps to Conduct a Trademark Lookup
There are numerous ways of conducting a trademark search, but each of those steps is arranged logically.
1.Identify Relevant Trademark Classes
According to the Nice Classification, there are 45 different classes for every trademark, which are grouped into subclasses as follows:
- Classes 34: 1 Goods are encapsulated into
- Classes 45: 35 Services are encapsulated into
The first step when conducting trademark research is to find the corresponding class of the offering goods and services. To illustrate, in the situation of a clothing line business, it is sensible to assume that your trademark resides in Class 25 which covers clothing, footwear, and headgear.
2. Utilize Official Trademark Databases
Visit the appropriate trademark registry pertinent to your country and attempt to search there. In this manner, you can visit the Intellectual Property India website, which offers a convenient trademark search feature through which trademarks can be searched in India based on the following:
- Wordmark: Any word and its associated terms can be searched.
- Viennese Code: Searching for logos or those marks that fall into the category of other mark devices and logos.
- Phonetic Search: Trademarks can also be retrieved by their sounds.
This tool provides the capability to further refine trademark searches by subclass as well as other relevant filters that may identify possible conflicts.
3. Conduct a Comprehensive Search
In addition, it would be important to look for unregistered trademarks and trademarks protected by common law that may not appear in official trademark registers. Examples of marks under this category include:
- Internet Search: Running an unsophisticated internet search for logos and brand names that are sought after.
- Domain Name Check: Looking up domain names and ensuring that these names do not have trademark conflicts.
- Social Media Platforms: Searching Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other pertinent platforms to identify the presence of names or brands that are similar or identical.
4. Evaluate Search Results
Following your online search, review how the existing trademarks compare to the ones you came up with. Be sure to evaluate the following considerations:
- Visual Similarity: Do any of the logos or any other components of the designs look the same or identical?
- Phonetic Similarity: Is the trademark the same or more or less the same as the other trademarks?
- Conceptual Similarity: Are the trademarks, in relation to what they represent or refer to, similar?
If there is a trademark that your proposed trademark is too similar to, then due to attempting to be distinctive and the existing marks below complicating matters legally, it will be sensible to suggest that this trademark should be modified.
5. Seek Professional Assistance
Trying to learn everything about trademark law might be problematic since it is one of the trademarks that takes more interpretation than one may think is doable. An attorney who specializes in trademarks or an intellectual property attorney makes the trademark searching and registration processes much easier.
How AnalystIP Facilitates the Trademark Lookup Process
AnalystIP trademark servicing simplifies trademark lookup and registration as a trademark service provider and helps clients every step of the way. Their trademark services provide proper protection for your brand.
Key Services Offered by AnalystIP:
- Trademark Search and Clearance: AnalystIP performs the extensive searches for existing trademarks that may conflict with new trademarks. We resolve conflicts so that registration becomes possible.
- Trademark Filing: They aid in preparing and filing the trademark application documents.
- Trademark Monitoring: Registration also creates the ownership mark, and the holder becomes obliged to monitor the mark and legally defend against infringing uses.
- Legal Advisory: Senior trademark lawyers will give you sound and professional advice in dealing with issues related to intellectual domains.
It is apparent that with the assistance provided by AnalystIP, any person attempting to register a trademark can rest assured that the trademark’s validity complies with all applicable laws.
Conclusion
In the course of building a trademark as a part of a brand strategy, trademark due diligence research needs to be proactive, anticipatory, and detailed. A trademark conflict avoidance strategy and its relationship to patent screening processes has two options: either conduct a thorough screening for relationships between various trademarks or hire competent professionals to do so. Such processes, where specialists ensure the uniqueness and legality of trademarks like those offered by AnalystIP, are much quicker.
Intellectual Property Rights Faq
Q1: What is the difference between a wordmark and a device mark?
Any mark can take two forms. A wordmark is only composed of letters or words whilst a device mark is made up of words together with a pictorial element like a logo or symbol.
Q2: Can I register a trademark that is similar to an existing one?
It is possible, but not advisable. Submitting a trademark application that is a close variation of an already registered mark carries a lot of potential litigation risk; hence, sufficient distance trademark research is important.
Q3: How long does the trademark registration process take in India?
The period is usually 18 months, but may extend up to 2 years due to potential opposition or objection parties.
Q4: Is it necessary to conduct a trademark lookup before registration?
Indeed, a trademark search is essential in establishing possible conflicts and confirming if the trademark is not already registered or protected somewhere.
Q5: Can AnalystIP assist with international trademark registration?
Of course, AnalystIP does help regarding foreign trademarks and helps in the global protection of your name.
For more detailed information on trademark search and registration services, please visit AnalystIP.