The USPTO's Free Online Trademark Search

You can conduct a very basic, very preliminary trademark search on the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office website (www.uspto.gov). A lot of clients call me up to tell me that they've already searched this online database, and that they did not find any conflicts with other trademarks. However, this free online search is usually not enough to clear a trademark for use and/or registration.

One of the biggest limitations to the free online search is that it will only display results that feature the words you typed into the search. For example, if you search for the term SPARKLE WATER, it will return all results with the terms SPARKLE WATER in them. However, it would not return a result for something like SPARKLING H2O, which would likely be confusingly similar to SPARKLE WATER. Therefore, the free online search is to be used only for the purpose of discovering identical federally registered trademarks, and not necessarily confusingly similar federally registered trademarks. As is well-settled, a proposed trademark need not be identical to a prior-existing trademark registration to be deemed confusingly similar.

Additionally, the free online search does not cover other trademark databases that should also be searched before proceeding to use a proposed trademark, namely, the state trademark databases of all the 50 states, and common law trademark databases (such as national business directories and internet domain names).

Accordingly, although the USPTO provides a free online trademark search feature on their website, it is highly recommended that you have a professional trademark search conducted on your behalf by a competent trademark attorney.

About the author:
Xavier Morales is the owner of the Law Office of Xavier Morales, http://www.SecureYourTrademark.com focusing on Trademark Registration and domain name disputes. He can be reached at 1-866-618-2517 or by email: xm@secureyourtrademark.com