You’ve developed a new search engine. Your company is rolling out a new online advertising service. You designed a line of t-shirts or clothing. You’ve come up with THE recipe for barbeque sauce. Before you adopt a trademark or logo, you want to know that it’s available for use. Adopting a mark, logo, or design that’s identical or confusingly similar to a trademark that is already in use can result in anything from you having to re-brand to getting sued for damages in court. So how do you protect yourself and your business?

The first step is getting a sense of the field; what trademarks have been registered already with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)? Below you can search to see what’s already been registered, and then contact us to discuss the results and how best to move forward with your mark.

Trademark clearance is a complicated process. Searching for design marks and logos is even more complex. We occasionally hear from people that have searched the PTO database themselves and now just want an attorney to file their trademark application. Some people and small businesses file an application without even attempting a search. There are good reasons, however, why it makes sense for you not to cut corners when it comes to trademark search and clearance. Our sections on knockout searches, trademark reports, and clearance letters help to explain why.