Trademark clearance opinions and Searches

Why Do a Trademark Search?

There are millions of businesses around the world.  This means that it is possible for your brand, trade, or service to already belong to someone else.  The job of an intellectual property attorney is to protect your IP.  They rely on a variety of sources and criteria to determine how your business can be protected regionally, nationally, and beyond.

Your business’ approach to protecting its trademark can be determined by a qualified trademark lawyer’s search and clearance opinion.  They can determine if your mark is unique to both your field and outside of it.  Meanwhile, a trademark search can offer solutions to your trademark needs. These searches and opinions can help save time and money for your business.

What Are The Types of Trademark Searches and Opinions?

Knock-Out / Exact Match

These searches are straight forward and rely on databases like the USPTO and the state secretary office.  They check for issues with your trademark and decide whether further action should be taken.  However, these opinions can be limited and do not provide some of the protections that come with a more thorough search and opinion.

Registration Analysis

Registration Analysis focuses on prior registrations and applications to evaluate the likelihood of success of a given application.  It also assists in obtaining the registration your business needs.  These searches are more extensive and use public resources like the USPTO.

Formal Clearance Opinion

The search needed to create a Clearance Opinion is much more thorough than an initial screening search.  It is generally conducted by third-party vendors and its results are reviewed by an attorney in order to develop a formal, written opinion.  This opinion is meant to identify relevant risks and potential solutions to your trademark needs.  A properly conducted Clearance Opinion can be used in many jurisdictions to show the good faith of the party adopting the mark. This can then be used to limit potential liability and potentially reduce the chance a court will become confused between the marks of two different businesses.

Kunkle Trademark and Legal can provide these searches and opinions as well as customize them to specifically address your business’ needs.

Call 612-414-3113 to discuss how I can help you with your trademark and copyright related matters.