How to find out if there is a trademark on something [Detailed Response]

Last updated : Aug 14, 2022

How do you check if something is trademarked or not?

You can search all applied-for and registered trademarks free of charge by using the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)'s Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). If your mark includes a design element, you will have to search it by using a design code.

How do I look up a trademark?

Identifying a trademark on goods or services is as straightforward as identifying the name, logo or symbol on packaging, advertising, or a sign that indicates the source of the goods or services. The more distinctive the name, logo or symbol that is displayed, the more likely it is a trademark.

How do you check if a logo has been trademarked?

Before you apply, you should search the USPTO's trademark database (Trademark Electronic Search System, or TESS) to see if any trademark has already been registered or applied for that is: Similar to your trademark. Used on related products or for related services, and. Live.

How do you find out if a name or logo is trademarked?

You can search for federally registered trademarks by using the free trademark database on the USPTO's website. To start, go to the USPTO's Trademark Electronic Business Center and choose "Search trademarks." Then follow the instructions you see on the screen. Check state trademark databases.

Are trademarks public record?

Trademark applications and registrations are public records. Individuals and private companies may use this public information to create third-party access to these records.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

What is the difference between a trademark and a registered trademark?

What is Trademark vs. Registered? The trademark symbol (TM) is a mark that companies often use on a logo, name, phrase, word, or design that represents the business. The registered symbol (R) represents a mark that is a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

How do I search a logo with a picture?

Drag a copy of the logo file onto the search field. Click the camera icon and choose “Upload an image,” then navigate to your logo file. If your logo file is already on the web, copy its URL, click on the camera icon, and paste the link. Then, click the “Search Images” button and let Google do its thing.

What logos are copyrighted?

A logo that includes artistic or design elements, (i.e. not just the name on its own), is legally regarded as being a work of artistic creation and therefore will be protected under copyright law. Copyright protects the logo as an artistic work.

Can you trademark a name already in use but not trademarked?

If you're wondering, "can you trademark something that already exists," the simple answer is "no." Generally speaking, if somebody has used a trademark before you, you can't register the trademark for yourself.

How much is a trademark?

No matter how you file, you will pay a minimum of $250 to apply for a Federal trademark. But considering the importance of your trademark, and the potential complexities you face when filing, it's not a bad idea to use a lawyer or filing service.

Can someone trademark my business name?

The short answer is—in theory, yes, but in reality, no. If you don't have a trademark on your name, someone else can research the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database and find an available name. They can then trademark it.

How do you check if a company is legally registered?

Check with the State Business Department The first way to check registration is by visiting the state's website and looking for their registry of businesses. Note that the entity name check should always occur in the state where the business was incorporated, not necessarily where it is currently active.

What does a trademark protect?

A trademark is a sign capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one enterprise from those of other enterprises. Trademarks are protected by intellectual property rights.

How do I remove a trademark?

Trademark Cancellation Grounds The first step in canceling a trademark is to file a petition for cancellation. In your petition for cancellation, you will need to show you have standing to cancel the trademark. You will also need to pay the registration fee. It can be done either on paper or electronically.

What are the three types of trademarks?

What you'll learn: Arbitrary and Fanciful Trademarks. Suggestive Trademarks. Descriptive Trademarks.

How much does it cost to file a trademark for a phrase?

If you have ever asked yourself how much does it cost to trademark a phrase, according to the current fee schedule on the USPTO, trademark registration fees cost $275 per mark per class. If you need an attorney's assistance, the cost averages around $1,000 to $2,000.

What is a trademark secret?

A trade secret: is information that has either actual or potential independent economic value by virtue of not being generally known, has value to others who cannot legitimately obtain the information, and. is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

What does the little C in a circle mean?

The © 'C in a circle' is the normal copyright symbol and can be applied to most types of work. The ℗ 'P in a circle', is referred to as the sound recording, phonorecords, phonogram or phonographic copyright symbol. Sound recordings have a separate copyright that is distinct from that of the underlying work.

Which is better copyright or trademark?

Copyright protects original work, whereas a trademark protects items that distinguish or identify a particular business from another. Copyright is generated automatically upon the creation of original work, whereas a trademark is established through common use of a mark in the course of business.

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Write a comment

when you create a new business or product or service one of the first things that you're going to do is create a name for it but you want to make sure that you don't go to all the time and effort of creating that name only to find out later that someone else has already registered that name as a trademark so what I'm going to do today is show you a really handy website that you can use where you can check to see if that name or even logo design has already been registered by someone else so let's go over to the computer and I'll show you that site ok folks so this is the website I'd like to take a look at with you today it's the World Intellectual Property Organization website and the address is WIP all dot I n T so if you go to that website address you then will have this page we then need to click on knowledge in the menu and global brand database we want to then click on access the global brand database so I want to do today is I want to show you how to do two simple searches using this database a name search and an image or local search we're going to search for a fictitious company that I'm setting up called a red squirrel and it's going to be a design company so to search for any businesses which have the name red squirrel it's really straightforward you just go to the text area and you type in red squirrel we are also going to put into the goods and services that it is a design service and we just hit search and this is the results that we get so we can see here we've got Red Bull we've got ones just called squirrel and we've got green squirrel we've got purple squirrel we've got design squirrel lots of them here but we do not have red squirrel so it would be okay on the name with that so which is great that's exactly what we want the next thing that we can do is we can actually do an image search to see if there are any logos out there with squirrels in them say we had an idea for a squirrel logo so what you want to do is you want to clear your current search which you can see here you just click on the little checkboxes and that clears the search so we do is you go to the image class section and we typed in squirrel and you'll see on this drop-down it gives us two choices we've got just squirrels or we can have a group so squirrels chipmunks animals which are similar for us we just want to do a search on squirrels today so if you click that you'll see that it changes it into a specific number in the database then you click search and it gives us results 123 pages of 30 results each page of squirrel logos so you can actually have a browse through all of these to see what squirrel logos have been registered as trademarks that will allow you to develop your own mobile concept around a squirrel idea or image and not infringe on an existing one which is in the trademark database and that's it it's really simple to use and it will just give you a little bit more peace of mind that you can use the name that you're thinking of or if it's the other way around it stops you from wasting time and resources pushing forward with a name or a logo design that at the end of the day you're not going to be able to use because someone has already registered it as their intellectual property so they are folks that's the WIPO website it's a great way to do kind of a surface level check just to see if anyone's registered a name that you're thinking about using I would always suggest though that you hire the services of a professional IP lawyer they will do a full and thorough check for you to make doubly sure that the classification that you want to register that Niemann is free if you've liked this video and find it useful I'd really appreciate it if you could share it with your friends and colleagues on social media or by email make sure to give the video a thumbs up subscribe to the channel if you haven't done so already um when you do make sure you click on that little bail icon and you'll be notified whenever I release a new video so until I see you next time stay creative folks

Thanks for your comment Cristobal Lipsie, have a nice day.
- Eleni Sandobal, Staff Member

hey all welcome back to my channel it's boss attorney free and this is the place for content creators and entrepreneurs to come to boss up their business the legal and legit way today we are going to be talking about drum roll please trademarks but exactly what about trademarks today we are going to be talking about how do we know if someone already trademarked something or if something is trademarked but as always before we get started i do have to give my legal disclaimer and let you know that this video is for informational purposes only if you need help determining whether something is trademarked i suggest that you consult with an attorney before you go walking down the river hole talking about something as trademark when it may not be trademarked but today we're going to cover the basics but keep that legal disclaimer in mind okay so the first thing that we have to discuss before we can talk about how to determine whether something is trademarked is to determine why it is even important to know whether something is trademarked and there are a few reasons why you might want to know that something is trademark one is because you can get sued if you are using someone's trademark material without their permission or two you will not be able to get your trademark registered if there is already a trademark registered with the united states patent and trademark office and it is within the same or a similar class as the products or services that you will be producing trying to trademark something that is already registered will cause you to lose money with rebranding and also when you go to the uspto and you try to register it you pay that application fee if there is someone that's already registered you lose that application fee there is no refunds for the application fee so it is very important to check whether something is trademarked before you actually start filing a trademark or actually using any business name you intend to use one really important thing to note is that you need to consider the different categories that products and services may fall into because your trademark will not be considered confusingly similar or a trademark infringement if it is something that is in a completely different class than what you are filing in let's say you are making stationery and another company has the same name as you and they're actually selling metal wheels or something of that nature that is just completely unrelated they're not likely to be trademark infringing if they have the same name as you and you are likely to still be able to get your trademark registered if there is someone already registered but is doing something completely different than what you are doing and as always consult with an attorney to help you analyze whether you are different enough from something that is already registered with the same name as you let's get right into it how do you tell whether something is trademarked one of the first things that gives away whether something is trademarked is when you see the little r with a circle around it some people confuse that sign to mean something else but what it actually means is registered and we are talking about a registered trademark when you see the little tm that just means that someone is intending to use something as their trademark but they have not necessarily filed it with the trademark office without filing it with a trademark office you cannot use the r with a circle in it because that is federally protected in order to have federal protection the federal government has to approve you so make sure when you see that r you know that someone has a registered trademark sometimes someone may use it and they may not know that they need a registered trademark but in most cases if you see someone with the r in the circle in it then they do have a registered trademark and the second way to determine whether someone has a trademark is to simply do a trademark search like i said just a few seconds ago sometimes people use the r with a circle in it without knowing that they actually need federal protection before they can use that symbol and so they may be using it just because they don't know and they don't actually have a registered trademark so the way that you find out whether someone's trademark is actually registered or in the event that they once had a registered and they're still using the r but they have let their trademark die they might no longer have the federal protection of the trademark so the way that you can find out whether someone still has a trademark or has a trademark at all is to go to the united states patent and trademark office that is uspto.gov and do a search on the trademark database this is the only place that actually has all of the trademarks registered with the federal government that you can find though there's no need to search places like trademark engine or legalzoom or something like that just go directly to the source this is where you can also file your application and this is where you look up whether a trademark is actually registered on the trademark website it will have different signals such as if it is alive if it's abandoned if it's dead usually the trademarks that are live are the ones that are still active these are the ones that you need to consider most when getting your trademark because the fact that they are live will stop your application from going through if it is considered to be the same or confusingly similar to the trademark that is already live and it doesn't have to be registered it just has to be still live on the trademark website so that is all for today thank you for joining me i hope you learned a lot about learning how to determine whether something is trademarked as always if you have any questions or you want me to discuss something on this channel make sure to leave a comment down below if you haven't already subscribed to this channel like this video and i will see you next week bye

Thanks baisavasy your participation is very much appreciated
- Eleni Sandobal

About the author

Eleni Sandobal

I've studied acoustical engineering at Tiffin University in Tiffin and I am an expert in aerospace architecture. I usually feel disappointed. My previous job was foreign language translator I held this position for 18 years, I love talking about proofreading and editing and swimming. Huge fan of Kerry Washington I practice sledding and collect first day covers.