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Why is trademark search important?

Written by Jan Buza

Co-founder of Trama

A trademark search identifies existing registrations that could prevent your mark from being registered or that could lead to an opposition after filing. Filing without a search means potentially paying government fees and legal costs for an application that was always going to fail, or discovering a conflict during the opposition period after the application has already been examined and published.

Beyond registration risk, a search also protects against the commercial risk of building a brand on a name that a third party can legitimately challenge. Discovering a serious conflict after significant investment in branding, marketing, and product development is far more costly than discovering it before filing.

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