How to Check Trademark Availability?

Having a trademark is an absolutely necessary thing for every big and small business. Your company trademark is the unique identification feature that represents your company and your products.

However, before you select a trademark for your company, you have to make sure that it has not been taken up previously by another company.

There are a few ways in which you can check for a trademark’s availability. Let’ see how.

Check For Trademark Availability

A company’s trademark is its intellectual property and is protected by the intellectual property rights of a country. If you live in the US, the easiest way for you to check and register for a trademark is visiting the US Patent and Trademark Office website.

If you live in India and are planning to register your trademark there, you have to visit the Indian government’s Trademark search database. Once you visit the website, you have to select wordmark and enter the wordmark that you would like to check for. Once you put in the wordmark, you have to select the class or the industry that your company belongs to. Once you’ve done that, the website will take you to a page that will display all the companies that have taken up the particular wordmark that you’re searching for. In case no company has taken the wordmark that you searched for, you can choose it.

(Image Courtesy: Live Law)

Understanding Search Results

If you’re visiting the trademark database website for the first time, you might have a hard time understanding it. So, we decided to explain what everything means on that particular page.

For instance, we searched for ‘Apple’ that falls in Class 42. Take a look at the search results here. Of course, the Apple wordmark and logo are the intellectual properties of Apple Computer Inc. So, that way, you just have to simply search for a wordmark in alignment with your company’s name and hope that no one has taken it up before.

(Image Courtesy: Web Storm)

Registering Your Trademark

Once you’ve found a unique wordmark for your class, you’re ready to register your trademark. There are a few forms that you need to fill out before you can do that. You need a trademark or a logo copy, along with filling a form about your personal details. Further, you have to fill a form about the goods and services that your business deals in. After you’ve done all this, you need to pay a sum of Rs. 4,500 if you’re a small business owner, Rs. 900 if you’re a big business owner, and Rs. 3500 if you’re registering a startup.

(Image Courtesy: I Gerent)

In conclusion, remember that your trademark and logo should be unique and should be something that people can remember easily. It doesn’t have to eye catchy or full of graphics. It can be simple and minimalist, but it has to be impactful. If you found this article informative, let us know in the comments below.

(Featured Image Courtesy: Intepat)