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Free Trademark Search
Before you file a trademark application — or print packaging with your new name on it — run a free pre-screen. It catches the obvious conflicts: an identical live mark in your category, a famous name that is confusingly similar. It is not legal advice and not a substitute for a full clearance search, but it filters out the names that would obviously fail, for free.
Run a Free Trademark Pre-Screen →How to run the pre-screen, step by step
- Use the official databases: the USPTO Trademark Search for the US, EUIPO eSearch for the EU, plus your own country's trademark office database. Start with the exact name, in plain text, no logo styling.
- Search similar, not just identical: conflicts are judged on likelihood of confusion, not exact match. Try plurals, common misspellings, sound-alikes, abbreviations, and translations. A mark does not need to be spelled the same to block you.
- Learn the class system: trademarks are registered per class of goods and services (the Nice Classification has 45 classes). A live mark in an unrelated class usually does not block you; a live mark in your class often does. Always note which classes the conflicting marks cover.
- Check the status: live / registered marks are the ones that matter. Dead, abandoned, or expired marks generally do not block you — but verify the status yourself rather than assuming.
- Write down what you found: keep the mark names, classes, and statuses. NameCheck's $9 Clearance Report packages its pre-screen into a keepable document with the name, sources, and a next-step checklist.
What a free pre-screen can and cannot do
It can catch identical and near-identical live marks in your classes — the conflicts most likely to cause a refusal or a dispute letter. It cannot guarantee registrability, assess unregistered (common-law) use that never made it into a database, or evaluate pending applications the way an examiner would. Treat a clean pre-screen as "no obvious red flags", not as "legally safe". This page is general information, not legal advice.
The four mistakes that get founders in trouble
- Searching only the exact name. The refusal rarely comes from an identical match — it comes from the similar name you never searched for.
- Ignoring the class system. "But they are in a different industry" only helps if the classes genuinely do not overlap. Check the classes, not the industry description.
- Thinking domain registration creates trademark rights. It does not. Owning the .com gives you a domain, not a trademark — and someone else's trademark can still force you off the name.
- Searching after launch instead of before. Every month you trade under a conflicting name is a month of packaging, signage, and goodwill you may have to throw away. Search before you file, and before you launch.
FAQ
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general information about how pre-screening works. For a filing decision, talk to a trademark attorney in your jurisdiction.
If nothing shows up in the search, is the name safe?
Not necessarily. A pre-screen only covers registered marks in the databases you searched. Unregistered use and pending applications can still create conflicts.
What does NameCheck's pre-screen cover?
NameCheck runs a trademark pre-screen alongside its live .com domain check and social handle format checks, so you see domain, social, and trademark signals on one page. See also: Is My Brand Name Trademarked? and How to Check If a Name Is Trademarked.
What does the $9 report add?
The free check gives you the live verdict. The $9 one-time Clearance Report packages it into a keepable document: domain verdicts across 6 TLDs with sources, handle checks, trademark pre-screen, 12 ranked alternatives, filing classes, and a next-step checklist.
Run a Free Trademark Pre-Screen →
More: Is My Brand Name Trademarked? · How to Check If a Name Is Trademarked · Startup Name Check
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