A corporate, company, or trade name ultimately gives owners the ability to differentiate itself in the marketplace and prevent similar use by competitors.  A trade name also serves as a safeguard for consumers and helps to maintain product or service integrity by allowing consumers to associate the trade name with the quality of the products they purchase.  Before investing in what may not be a distinctive trade name, it may be prudent to conduct a due diligence investigation that includes at least a preliminary corporate name search, if not a comprehensive corporate name search.

A preliminary corporate name search could include a review of registered marks (both domestic and foreign) and common law marks that are identical or confusingly similar to the chosen corporate name.  For example, a corporate name search could initially be conducted on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website, www.uspto.gov.  The USPTO trademark database generally includes abandoned marks, cancelled marks, pending registrations, and registered marks.  Depending on the trade name at hand, the corporate name search could include several searches directed to the trade name itself, individual components of the trade name, spelling variations of the trade name, phonetically similar trade names, and other suitable searches.  If the corporate name search yields any marks that are identical or confusingly similar, then those marks could be distinguished from the trade name at hand.  Otherwise, further investigation may be required to decide whether the trade name should be adopted.

A preliminary corporate name search could also include searches on one or more Internet search engines, such as Yahoo! and GoogleTM.  Searches on Internet search engines could reveal common law marks that that are currently in use in the U.S. or in foreign countries and may not found on the USPTO trademark database.  As with the corporate name search on the USPTO database, the Internet-based corporate name search could yield the trade name itself, individual components of the trade name, spelling variations of the trade name, or phonetically similar marks that could be identical or confusingly similar to the trade name at hand. Depending on the Internet-based corporate name search, further investigation may be required to decide whether the subject trade name should be adopted.

The preliminary corporate name search could also include a search of domain names that include terms that are identical or confusingly similar to trade name.  For example, the corporate name search could include using the “whois” domain name registration database from Network Solutions found at www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp.  As with the other corporate name searches, a domain name related search could yield the trade name itself, individual components of the trade name, spelling variations of the trade name, or phonetically similar terms that could be identical or confusingly similar to the trade name at hand.  Further investigation may be required to decide whether the subject trade name should be adopted based on the domain name search.  In addition, the corporate name search could identify available domain names that incorporate or are similar to the subject trade name in an effort to begin preemptively registering certain domain names and avoiding possible cybersquatting situations.

The preliminary corporate name search could further include a search of business entity and trade names.  For example, the corporate name search could include a search of a state’s Secretary of State records or a compiled database aggregating all fifty states’ business entity records such as a LexisNexis® database, www.lexis.com.  As with the other corporate name searches, a business entity name related search could yield the trade name itself, individual components of the trade name, spelling variations of the trade name, or phonetically similar names that could be identical or confusingly similar to the trade name at hand.  Further investigation may be required to decide whether the subject trade name should be adopted based on this search.

In cases where a corporate name search may be due in other databases or in foreign countries, a comprehensive trademark search may be required.  The comprehensive corporate name search could also include searches for a particular state, region, or industry.  As with the preliminary corporate name search, the comprehensive corporate name search could include several searches directed to the trade name itself, individual components of the trade name, spelling variations of the trade name, phonetically similar terms, and other suitable searches.  If the comprehensive corporate name search yields any marks, trade names, or domain names that are identical or confusingly similar, then the trade name at hand may need to be distinguished.  Otherwise, further investigation may be required to decide whether the trade name should be adopted.

If you would like to know more about trademark law and conducting a trademark search, please contact a Dallas trademark attorney.