How do you correctly conduct a trademark search ?

[ABC1234]

Hi,

When doing a trademark search, does one search for "yourdomain.com" or "your domain" with no (dot com) ?

Thanks

 

[RJ]

Trademarks are a complicated area of law.

Generally, you would search for the terms contained in the domain name, not the .COM part. You have to look at all of the terms in the domain too. If there is a trademark on the term 'Microsoft' then the domain MicrosoftSoftware.com would still be considered a TM violating domain name.

Search registered trademarks at www.uspto.gov but someone once said Google is the best place to search trademarks. Companies can gain common law trademark rights in a term by using it in commerce, so if you search Google and that term is being used as a trademark by another company your domain could be considered a TM violator,

 

[DNQuest.com]

simple google.com, see what pops up. At that point, see how it is being used.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Google is not exhaustive, however.
USPTO still should be checked.

We have associates who all they do all day is TM searches at USPTO (Very complicated stuff (At least that's what they tell me ) - that new user/boolean search is all but worthless, unfortunately.) at $250/hr - I won't pretend to understand 1/2 of it, but you can pull up the actual text of TM applications and the examiners responses on TDS/R (Not TESS) and see exactly how the examiners themselves look for TM conflicts; this was most enlightening to me.

-Allan :gl:

 

[Makis.TV]

at this website:
http://www.uspto.gov/index.html
where u look for trademarks?

i mean i have the word in my mind and i also found some results on tess, but are they legitimate?

 

[Dave_Z]

i mean i have the word in my mind and i also found some results on tess, but are they legitimate?

Unless you're trying to find the right words to say, that's some question. :D

Let's just say "they are". Unless you really mean something else.

 

[Makis.TV]

:D i mean i have a word like:

monetise, and i find a result at tess database this means its trademark and i can use it ?

 

[gazzip]

Trademarks are very complicated to say the least

Something else to consider with Trade Marks is how the domain is being used, for example:

If you search the term Inca on http://www.uspto.gov you will see there are multiple trademarks for the same term held by different people using it for different things so how you use it must have alot of weight when it comes to disputes IMO

some examples are:

Word Mark INCA - owned by INCA CORPORATION FRANCE 20 rue Drouot 75009 PARIS FRANCE

Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: SOUND RECORDING CARRIERS, NAMELY, DISCS, COMPACT DISKS, LASER DISKS, AUDIO CASSETTES, DIGITAL VERSATILE DISKS, NUMERICAL DISKS, AND MINI-DISKS; PRE-RECORDED FILMS, DISKS, COMPACT DISKS, LASER DISKS, AUDIO CASSETTES, DIGITAL VERSATILE DISKS, NUMERICAL DISKS, MINI-DISKS, ALL FEATURING POPULAR MUSIC EXCLUDING ANDEAN MUSIC AND DANCE

.................................................................

Word Mark INCA - owned by Infineon Technologies AG CORPORATION FED REP GERMANY

Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Electronic components; namely integrated circuits for digital telephones. FIRST USE: 20010228. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20010228

................................................................

Word Mark INCA - owned by Vocel CORPORATION DELAWARE

Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: communications software for wireless mobile devices. FIRST USE: 20060100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20060100

..................................................................

Word Mark INCA - owned by ACH Food Companies, Inc.

Goods and Services IC 029. US 046. G & S: shortening and edible oils

..................................................................

....and loads more TMarks for the same word


Obviously it would not be possible to do this with something like Google, Yahoo etc.


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