Trademark is any icon, figure, tagline, label, brand, words or a mixture of these used to symbolise or identify a product. A trademark is a type of business symbol, signature, etc. that speaks out for the motto of the company or the values it holds. It is a symbol representing quality and excellence. Trademark also carries a legal perspective to it, as its usage can be seen in the prevention of unauthorised use by other rivals.
Trademark search performed as a guideline which can be used to determine the trademark status whether it is trademarked or not. An online trademark search is available through the website of Comptroller General of Patent Designs and Trademarks or Quick Company.
A trademark search is done in two ways:
- Search through QuickCompany
- Search through government site
Way 1: Search through QuickCompany
The initial step in trademark search through the Quick Company starts by visiting the site of QuickCompany. Through the trademark database of the site, you can search the availability of the desired trademark.
Following steps need to be followed to search and get a trademark result:-
Step 1: Visit Quick Company’s site and move the cursor on Trademarks and click on the ‘Trademark Registration’ under the Trademarks.
Step 2: Simply enter the trademark name in the dialogue box you are searching for and click on the ‘Go’ button.
Step 3: The search result will show the matching marks with the basic information of the mark like registration id and class of the mark.
Step 4: For more details click on the mark, it will show you the trademark details and registration details of the mark.
Step 5: Apart from the mark details, you will get the information about the rest of the classes in which you can file the search mark.
Way 2: Search through government site
The first step in searching a trademark through online mode starts by making a visit to the website of Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks. Through the comprehensive trademark database of the site, one can search for a desired trademark.
The database stores all information concerning the trademarks, be it submitted trademarks, trademarks applied for, rejected trademarks, expired and trademarks under objection.
Following steps need to be followed to search and get a trademark result:-
Step 1: Open the website of Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks
Step 2: Once the site opens look for the search bar where the user enters the type of search concerning him/her.
Step 3: Now in the “search type” tab select “Wordmark/ Vienna Code/ Photetic"
The search on the online database is divided into three categories. It is necessary to select one of the three categories mentioned on the site before proceeding further.
Step 4: Along with the Wordmark enter the Class (45 Trademark classes) you want the search to be done for. The database performs a scan for the entered wordmark and filters the search on the preconditions of matching the word type, containing the word type or beginning with the entered word type.
Step 5: As a result three separate search results will be yielded firstly, containing all the results in a tabular form matching with the wordmark. If a search result gives “No matches found” then no registered or applied trademark exists which matches the query.
Step 6: In case Trademark is not found. Now if the search query yields a result displaying “no match found” then there arise two possibilities:-
1. Absence of the registered trademark
2. The applied trademark does not exist in the database.
Trademark Search can help you to ensure the availability of the business name, even if it is not registered.
