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Friday, January 16, 2009

The Only Guide On Free Trademark Search You'll Ever Need

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By Jenni Snook

Did you know that you can go online and search for trademarks for no costs at all? There are many sites out there offering preliminary information for no cost at all, nevertheless, it may come with terms and conditions.

What really is a trademark? It could be a word, name or symbol, especially one that is officially registered and protected by law, which a company or individual uses as identification on all the goods made or sold by them. It could also be a distinguishing characteristic or feature. When a trademark is registered, the owner gets legal protection to carry on business using that trademark exclusively. No other individual or organization can use the trademark or even anything resembling it without attracting penal action. With such significant advantages, it is best that one registers the brand one intends to trade under as a registered trademark. To do so, the first step is to conduct a search to find out if that particular trademark is available for registration.

The cheapest method of doing this is by using the Internet to search online. You can see which trademarks that are already registered on various sites. The most important thing is to make sure that your preferred trademark is not currently in use somewhere else.

- In the United States, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the body that officially registers trademarks. On the website you can access the PT depository library and see if certain identifiable goods are available. However you will not be able to access information concerning registered trademarks in each state and DBA records.

- Many states have published their detailed databases online. Nevertheless, you are unlikely to find details of federal trademarks on these state sites nor those of other states and common-law database. Make sure that the state website you're visiting is the most updated version and so that you can do an ideal search.

- Yellow Pages. You can access their nationwide database by just entering the name of your business. There is no need to enter all other details asked for. Like the other websites, you will have to enter details of variations failing which the website does not conduct an intelligent search.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the search that you have undertaken without incurring any cost, you can always hire a professional who specializes in this work. Before that however, why not make use of the free facilities available?

You also have the option of filling out an application so that USPTO can do the search on your behalf for a similar trademark to the one you wish to register. Keep in mind that their main work is to protect existing trademarks by ensuring that new trademarks do not infringe upon already registered ones.

You are obliged to do a lot of preliminary research before applying to get your trademark registered. You have the option of visiting depository libraries as well as conducting manual searches for trademarks that already exist. This may be done electronically via TESS. You can then monitor the progress of an application via TARR.

The success of your application depends on whether the USPTO considers that your trademark could violate existing trademarks. If there that there is even a small chance that this can occur, then your application will most likely be rejected. To avoid such a situation, it's best that you utilize this guide to a free trademark search so that your application is successful.

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