Orange County Trademark Search Lawyer

Do you want to start a business, create a product, or establish a commercial brand identity? If so, you will need to legally protect your intellectual property and ensure you have the legal right to use it as you intend. The Kinder Law Group can help you register your trademark and provide comprehensive legal counsel regarding your intellectual property. One of the first things you must do when you want to register a trademark is a search of existing trademarks to ensure that your idea hasn’t already been registered by someone else.

A trademark search may seem like a straightforward process, and it’s possible to search yourself through the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). However, working with an Orange County trademark search attorney will streamline things significantly. Additionally, The Kinder Law Group has access to third-party search databases that can provide more holistic search results, so you can proceed with using your trademark with confidence.

What Is a Trademark Search?

The term “trademark search” refers to the process of checking existing trademark databases to make sure that your intended trademark has not been registered already. You can conduct a very narrow trademark search or expand your search to every avenue of trademark protection. The USPTO offers the Trademark Electronic Search System to look up all registered trademarks and their protected uses. However, some trademarks are established at the state level or through common law, and some trademark rights are legally established simply through the legitimate use of a mark.

Steps for a Thorough Trademark Search

The best way to approach a trademark search is to do extensive online research on your own before you even begin filling out your trademark registration paperwork. Take time to use Google and other search engines to look for anything that may indicate the trademark you intend to register has already been registered by someone else. Whether you plan to register a logo, slogan, image, or other material, it is vital to take this preliminary step before beginning the process of registering and protecting your trademark. You don’t want to go through the trouble of developing your trademark and creating a trademark specimen only to discover that another party already owns the rights to the material you intend to trademark for your own purposes.

Once you have conducted your preliminary research, your Orange County trademark search lawyer will help you explore the various official channels for trademark searches, namely the USPTO Trademark Electronic Search System and third-party trademark registration databases. Your trademark search does not have to stop at the USPTO system, which covers only trademarks registered at the national level. If you intend to use your trademark within your state or a smaller local area, you may also need to search state-level databases and other databases that include standard law trademark registration information.

Why Do I Need to Do a Trademark Search?

After you perform your preliminary research and find nothing that appears to conflict with the trademark you intend to register, you may think you are free to begin your trademark registration process. However, it is essential to remember that a trademark search encompasses trademark materials and their intended uses. An experienced Orange County trademark search attorney like those at The Kinder Law Group is skilled at using sophisticated search threads on the USPTO database and even has access to specialized databases and professional third-party trademark database search services to provide their clients with the most comprehensive trademark searches.

If you do not conduct a trademark search, you face several risks. First, your trademark registration could be delayed due to a conflict with an existing trademark you did not discover, or it could be rejected outright. It’s also possible that you could register your trademark and begin using it only to receive a cease and desist letter from another party claiming that you are infringing on their trademark. This could potentially lead to a lengthy and expensive legal battle that diminishes your ability to run your business and jeopardizes the reputation you have cultivated for your brand.

Why Should I Hire an Orange County Trademark Search Attorney?

While you can likely handle basic preliminary research yourself, you need the assistance of an experienced Orange County trademark search attorney if you want to ensure the highest level of protection for your trademark and to approach the registration process with confidence. Your attorney will know how to register your trademark and identify the risk factors you face based on your intended uses for your trademark and the geographic locations in which you intend to use it. There are many facets to trademark registration that many hopeful trademark owners fail to recognize when they do not secure legal counsel for the trademark registration process.

Your Orange County trademark search attorney will have access to databases that you do not, the experience to know exactly where to search for other trademarks that may potentially conflict with your own, and the ability to provide valuable advice for not only registering your trademark but also establishing your brand.

The attorneys at The Kinder Law Group understand that every potential trademark owner has unique goals and aspirations for their intellectual property. Our goal is to provide extensive and comprehensive trademark search services for our clients and help them build their brands and cultivate strong business reputations in their markets. We help our clients avoid the problems that follow incomplete trademark searches and tailor our legal services to the individual client’s needs.

We can perform both in-house trademark clearance searches and comprehensive trademark searches, and both services are available from our firm for flat fees. When you choose our firm to conduct your trademark search, we will provide you with a complete report of any potential conflicts we discover, so you are prepared for your trademark registration process. You can also rely on The Kinder Law Group for legal counsel with other trademark-related issues, including basic registration services and representation in trademark infringement cases.