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Trademarking intellectual property is a really wise business strategy. The patent and trademarking process can be lengthy, however. Even just conducting a trademark lookup involves several different steps to compete. Thankfully, you can easily learn how to lookup existing trademarks with a post like this one. Keep reading below to learn how to do a trademark lookup to make sure your intellectual property is actually your own.
Identify
First, you need to identify what you are attempting to trademark. If it is a word, phrase or name, this could be easy. For those who are attempting to trademark more complex intellectual property, this could be a bit more difficult. There could be several different ways to describe what it is you believe belongs to your business. Identify which business property you want to learn how to trademark in order to effectively lookup trademarks that are similar or the same.
Make Sure It Is Trademark-able
Next, you need to determine that your property is actually an acceptable format for trademarking. The best way to do this is to look in the official guide put out by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. Check in the Acceptable Identification of Goods & Services Manual to determine whether your property can legally be trademarked. Your new tossed salad invention may not make the cut. This way, you do not waste any time on a trademark search that turns up no results at all.
Identify International Class
Identify the international class appropriate for trademark-able product or idea. The appropriate international classes can be found in that same Acceptable Identification of Goods and Services Manual from the USPTO. They will be listed right near the potentially trademarkable products in that guide. This will help you target your trademark lookup as much as possible.
Consider Related Trademarks
Create a list of potentially related trademarks. This will help you conduct a thorough trademark search. Otherwise, your trademark lookup could prove worthless if you miss a trademark that is similar enough to cost your business the rights. Your screen printed transfer should include related trademarks for other design transfer processes. Make sure you prepare for a thorough search by creating a list of potentially similar trademarks.
Use The Trademark Database
After these steps, you will finally be ready to do a trademark lookup. Use TESS, the Trademark Electronic Search System, to do so. This is the only official way to search for trademarks. The TESS database can be found on the USPTO website. Navigate there to do as many trademark searches as you need.
Follow the steps above to learn how to do a trademark lookup to protect your businessmen jewelry ideas or any intellectual property at all. These steps will help you prepare to conduct a thorough trademark search to protect your business. This way, you can be sure to apply for a trademark that is not yet on the books so you do not waste your own time.
If you manage to learn something from a post that barely scratches the surface of the basic information about trademarks, you’re definitely not prepared to make any meaningful decisions about protecting your brand. On the other hand, if you know how to do a proper search and how to properly file a trademark application, this post would serve as a decent reminder.