Clearance/Availability/Evaluation

• Jurisdiction: Maryland

X. CLEARANCE/AVAILABILITY/EVALUATION

A. Generally

It is always prudent to search the availability of a mark before adoption. There are resources available—many of them now free—which aid in determining whether a third party is using a conflicting brand.

B. Online

As it becomes even more obligatory for businesses to have an Internet presence, an online search more often reveals any conflicting marks. The results from a robust search engine are a barometer of whether there are many or few infringement problems. But it is not conclusive.

Practice Tip

Websites of companies with possibly conflicting marks often disclose key information about use of the mark, which helps in analyzing whether infringement is possible. The website might reveal the territories in which the products are offered, or it might describe a channel of trade, the sophistication of the consumer, and other tidbits of information.

C. WWW.USPTO.GOV

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has created a helpful website¹²³ which enables searching the PTO database for registered and applied-for marks. This provides quick information on whether a mark is registered, or whether registration is in progress on an application to register a mark...