You would not want to spend money on marketing and advertising a domain name or trademark only to discover that somebody else owns it. To avoid infringing another’s name or mark, you have to search for domain name before you choose one for your business.
There are two ways on how you can conduct domain names check. One way is to avail the services of a search firm to do the search for you and the other way is to conduct the search yourself (if you have time to do it).
Search Firm Services
A search for domain name or trademark can be done through the search firms. Some of these search firms engage the services of a trademark lawyer who handles the trademark registration process. The attorney will then interpret the search report and advise you on whether to go ahead with your proposed name or mark.
You have to take note that the fees charged by these search firms depend on the services they provide. These fees and services vary considerably among trademark search firms. Thus, it pays off if you shop around.
To find a trademark search firm, you can simply look in the yellow pages, or consult a legal journal or magazine, or run an Internet search.
Conducting Search Yourself
If you wish to do the search for domain name on your own, there are resources available to aid you. There is a free trademark or domain names check that will tell you whether there are pending or approved federal trademark registrations on your desired domain name. You can also check a site listing domain names for sale – after all it’s possible someone has registered the name you want and now wants to make money vending it.
However, if your free domain names check or the search for domain name does not generate adverse results, you still can’t be absolutely sure that the domain name you prefer is not being used by another company. You must be aware that there are also state and common-law trademark designations. These data may not be available in a routine free trademark search.
It is always to your advantage if you do a comprehensive domain name check to avoid the hassles of future trademark infringement litigation.
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