What is a trademark search?
23-05-10A trademark search is a search for all trademarks that have been previously filed or registered in the country you are interested in. Trademark searches can be completed officially, administrated by the trademark office, or unofficially done on private databases. Trademark searches can also have differing scopes depending on the reason for searching. As trademarks are jurisdictional rights, a search is usually conducted at each intellectual property office (IPO) or trademark office (TMO) in each country of interest. Performing a trademark search at the intellectual property office alone is not sufficient. For a coherent search, one should also check the trademarks in use and not registered, trade names, business names, trade literature, etc.
