How to search for a trademark, and what a search misses

Why you search before you file

Two facts make a search worth doing before anything else. First, the USPTO fee is $350 per class and is not returned if the application is refused, so a conflict found after filing costs real money. Second, the examining attorney will search the same records you can, and will refuse an application that conflicts with a live registration or an earlier application. The free check and a search of the USPTO's records find most of what an examining attorney would find, for nothing.

The question a search answers is not "is this exact name taken?" It is "would the USPTO, or a court, think buyers are likely to confuse my mark with one that already exists?" That standard, called likelihood of confusion, reaches misspellings, sound-alikes, translations and marks for related goods. A search built around exact matches misses most of what matters.

Searching the USPTO's records yourself

The USPTO's trademark search system is free and covers every federal application and registration, live and dead. It replaced the older TESS system in late 2023, and searches are written as field queries. Work through it in this order:

1. Search the exact name, in every class. Then search it as one word and as two, with and without spaces, hyphens and punctuation. Hazel & Rye, Hazel and Rye, HazelRye and Hazel-Rye are the same mark to the USPTO.
2. Search the way it sounds. Swap letters that make the same sound (Loopwell, Lupwell, Loopwel), drop or double consonants, and try the plural and the singular. A phonetic match in related goods is as serious as an exact one.
3. Search the meaning. Try synonyms, translations into common languages, and the same idea in different words. Northwind and a foreign phrase meaning north wind can conflict under the USPTO's doctrine of foreign equivalents.
4. For a logo, search by design code. The USPTO assigns numeric codes to the shapes in every design mark, and its Design Search Code Manual tells you which codes describe yours.
5. Open every live record that looks close. Read the goods and services, the owner, the filing date and the status. Note the serial number so you can find it again.

How the USPTO compares marks

The examining attorney compares marks as a whole, on three axes: how they sound, how they look and what they mean. Similarity on one axis can be enough. Two marks that look different on paper but sound the same when a customer asks for them by name are similar; so are two marks that share their dominant word even if one adds a descriptive tail. Descriptive words and disclaimed words count for less, and the first word of a mark usually counts for more.

Then the goods. Marks are never compared in a vacuum; they are compared for the goods and services each covers. Identical marks can coexist for unrelated goods, and quite different marks can conflict for identical goods. The test is whether buyers would assume the goods come from the same source or a connected one, which is why a bakery's name and a coffee roaster's name are often related, and a bakery's name and a software company's name usually are not.

The list of results is facts; deciding which of them would lead an examining attorney to refuse is judgment. Likelihood of confusion, in plain English goes through the factors.

What a USPTO search misses

The federal register is the most important place to search, and it is not the only one. Rights in the United States come from use, not only from registration, so a business that never filed anything can still have rights that stop you. A search of the USPTO's records leaves out:

• State trademark registrations. Each state keeps its own register, most of them searchable online through the secretary of state, and none of them feed the USPTO's records. A state registration will not block a federal application by itself, but the business behind it has been using the name and may have priority where it operates.
• Unregistered, common-law marks. A shop, a consultancy or a product that has sold under a name for years has common-law rights in the area where customers know it. Those rights can support an opposition to your application, a cancellation petition after registration, or a lawsuit if you move into their area. Web searches, business directories, marketplace listings and social platforms are where they show up.
• Business entity names and DBAs. An LLC or corporation name on file with a state is checked only against that state's entity records. It is evidence of use, not a trademark right, but it tells you someone is trading under the name.
• Very recent filings. A new application takes a few days to appear in the search system, so a search is never quite current.

So the search has two stages: the records first, then a wider look and a professional read before the filing fee is spent.

The free check and the attorney's read

The free check does the first stage for you. Describe the name and what you sell, and it screens U.S. federal trademark records for exact and look-alike marks, compares them on sound, spelling, meaning and market, tells you which are live and which are dead, suggests the classes that fit, and flags matching domain names. It takes seconds, and it is a screening: not a comprehensive clearance search and not legal advice.

The second stage happens when you decide to file. Before anything is filed, your attorney reviews a comprehensive search that reaches beyond the federal records to state registrations and common-law use, goes through it with you on a free call, and tells you what the screening could not: which similar marks are a real problem for your goods and which are noise. If the USPTO later refuses the application because of a conflicting mark that search should have found, Trademarky refunds its attorney fee; the pricing page has the terms.

Run the name through the check first. It takes seconds and shows you the closest live records before you spend anything. Check my trademark for free

What to do with what you find

• Nothing close and live: a good sign. Widen the search once more with looser spellings and the meaning, then move on to classes and a filing basis.
• A close mark that is dead: usually not a bar at the USPTO, but read the record. An application abandoned last month may be revived or refiled, and the business may still be trading. What each USPTO trademark status means explains how to read it.
• A close mark that is live, for unrelated goods: often workable, and a question for the attorney rather than a reason to give up. The answer depends on how similar the marks are and how far apart the goods really sit.
• A close mark that is live, for related goods: the honest options are a different name, a name that adds a distinctive element rather than a descriptive one, or a narrower description of goods that steps clear of the conflict. A quick decision here saves the filing fee and months of waiting.

Keep a note of what you searched and when, and search again just before filing; the register moves every day.

Questions about this topic

Is the USPTO's trademark search system free to use?

Yes. The USPTO's trademark search system is free and open to anyone, with no account needed. It covers every federal application and registration, live and dead. What it does not cover is state registrations, unregistered common-law names or the judgment about which similar marks matter.

Should I search for my logo as well as my name?

Yes, if you plan to file the logo. Design marks are indexed with numeric design codes for the shapes they contain, so a logo is searched by code rather than by word. Most brands should clear and file the name first, because the name is what customers say and type, and a logo search comes second.

What if someone is using my name but never registered it?

They may still have rights. In the United States, trademark rights come from use, so a business that has sold under a name has common-law rights in the area where customers know it, registered or not. It can oppose your application, seek to cancel your registration, or sue if you move into its area. That is why the comprehensive search reaches beyond the federal records.

Related guides

• Likelihood of confusion, in plain English: How the USPTO decides two trademarks are confusingly similar: sound, appearance and meaning, related goods, and how to answer a Section 2(d) refusal.
• What each USPTO trademark status means: USPTO trademark statuses explained: pending, published for opposition, registered, abandoned, cancelled and expired, and what a dead mark means for you.
• How to name a brand you can trademark: The distinctiveness spectrum in plain English, a naming checklist, how to screen a shortlist, the traps that get names refused, and domain checks.

Contact

Trademarky, LLC, 78 SW 7th St, 5th FL, Miami, FL 33130. (305) 562-6800, hello@trademarky.io. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm ET. Available by appointment.

This free check is an AI-assisted preliminary screening against known U.S. trademark records. It is not a comprehensive clearance search and not legal advice. Only a licensed attorney can advise you on whether to file.