There are several reasons why you may need a professionally prepared trademark search report.

Typically, if you are thinking about applying for a trademark registration, you want to know if there are pre-existing registrations or pending applications which may interfere with, or prevent, your successful registration. And you probably want to know before you go through the time and expense of filing, rather than after.

A key reason for having a search report prepared is the time factor. It may take anywhere from 5-6 months (at a minimum) before an application is initially reviewed by an examiner at the Trademark Office. And an application may take one or two years to work its way through the registration process and its registrability is finally determined. However, a search report typically takes only 2-3 days, and if you're really in a hurry, 1 day.

Another reason for getting a professionally prepared trademark search report relates to marketing and advertising costs. If you are about to launch a new product, why would you invest all the time and cost of promotion into a product name or brand that conflicts with an existing product brand, requiring you to start over and ultimately pay the promotion costs twice? Better to find out ahead of time and keep costs to a minimum.

Trademark searches are not required in order to file a trademark application. However, investing in a trademark search is very prudent. Trademark searches are used to make a preliminary determination of whether a mark might be registerable. (Note: only the Trademark Office can make a binding determination of registrability. Further, a search report is not the same as an opinion of registrability). A search is merely intended to identify any other confusingly similar marks which already exist.

Generally, it is recommended that a comprehensive search be conducted, especially for nationally distributed goods and services. A comprehensive search will examine not only the federal and state trademark databases, but also common law sources and internet domain names registrations for conflicting marks. Often it is also wise to include a search of company and corporate names, as well as periodical texts and other databases.

Other reasons for getting a search include having the information necessary to respond to an examiner's objections (if you have already applied for a trademark), or to defend or prosecute a legal case relating to your trademark.

Can you conduct your own trademark search without getting a professionally prepared report? Sure. But do you know how to conduct a thorough search? Our researchers are professionals who are trained in this line of work, and do it daily. They know how to find equivalent marks that may be spelled or punctuated differently, and how to look for relevant synonyms, word order variations, and similar sounding terms. Plus, their experience helps evaluate the most similar goods and services to your own, even though they may be classified in a different class from you. Anybody can determine if there is an exact match to your trademark - but that isn't enough. You need to find those marks which are not an exact match, but which are 'confusingly similar.' That's the benefit of a professionally prepared search report.

We offer a variety of trademark search report options to help you determine the availability of a proposed trademark and whether successful registration is likely. A search can be tailored for a specific country, database, scope of search and turnaround time. The cost of performing a search varies according to the extent and type of the search conducted.