A survey of trademark lawyers shows that their favorite trademark search tools are:
uspto.gov/Trademark Search
Manual/straightforward searches on TESS
Reason: To save money
Nuans Trademark Search
Pro:
- A comprehensive Canadian trademark search showing images, goods and services, and owners.
- At $50 per search, it is very affordable.
- Turnaround time is usually under a couple of hours.
- See if someone has a convention priority date that may file in the USPTO
Con: It only searches the Canadian trademarks database.
Markify
Quick preliminary and comprehensive searches when I need to outsource or am short on time
Trademark Now
Pro: AI Knockout searches with probability scores
Con: Expensive, even with multiple pricing options for a sole practitioner
$10,000+ USD flat-rate annual subscription fee
$1000 per year plus $149 per search with up to 5 countries (including US) or about $449 per search for more than 5 countries
Compumark Trademark Search Engine
Pro: Thorough trademark search
Con: Expensive: $780 for a full US standard character search
It takes a long time to go through all of the listings. Typical reports are 500 to 1000 pages.
Corsearch
Pro: Thorough trademark search
Con: Expensive
ActiveIP
No information on pros and cons
Owned by CSC Global
IP Boot Camp: Trademarks
Sonia Lakhany discusses the importance of trademarks and freedom to operate searches.
Trademark Search Recommendations:
- Do a “knockout search” is a quick search conducted to make sure there are no exact or near-exact matches in the PTO database. It usually only takes a few minutes.
- File a proposed use application before using the trademark. It takes 3 to 4 months to get a response
- For a startup in slow mode, with no upfront investment, do a quick USPTO search on TESS.
- For a business investing in signage, marketing, etc., spend the money and get a freedom to use trademark search
It’s not just a question of wasting a client’s time and money–it’s potentially a malpractice issue if you don’t do a proper clearance search. If a client has invested significant time and money in a mark, and then has to change the mark to something new, they are naturally going to be looking for someone to blame.