How to Conduct Global Trademark Searches Cost-Effectively

To conduct global trademark searches is an indispensable step for every company that eyes the international market for product launches. This step is vital for introducing infringement-free products, which may otherwise result in legal disputes. However, many companies may not leverage to conduct global trademark searches because of the high costs and turnaround time involved. Hence, this blog explains how to conduct global trademark searches cost-effectively.

Also Read: Trademark Watch Service: Why Do You Need One?

Conduct Global Trademark Searches: Importance

Global trademark searches refer to the mechanism of determining the uniqueness of a trademark worldwide – in just a single step. It’s helpful when companies intend to explore their business in multiple countries. The process involves searching global databases to identify similar and identical marks. Further, these may remain already registered or pending with the patent and trademark office concerned.

Further, it is crucially important to conduct Global trademark searches. This is because the value of a brand faces great impacts due to the protection it has globally. Additionally, the trademark search industry has evolved in the last five years. The advent of new tools, solutions, and services, makes the process better.

Furthermore, conducting cost and time-efficient global trademark searches is greatly important to India. Although the country does not feature among the top countries with the highest global filings, it has been gradually evolving. India already holds a position among the top five countries with a high number of domicile trademark filings.

Therefore, cost-effective global trademark searches can be beneficial for Indian companies along with global firms that wish to boost their revenue.

Also Read: How to Perform a TESS Trademark Search?

Challenges Related to Global Trademark Search Process

The prime challenge towards conducting global trademark searches is to select the right brand. However, multiple factors increase the complexity of this process, ultimately increasing the money and time invested in the search. These factors include:

Multiple Stakeholders

The process of selecting the right brand involves collaboration with multiple stakeholders spread across geographies. These include the marketing, product, and legal teams which have their own set of key result areas (KRAs). Therefore, the complexity and effort-intensive process of collaborating with multiple stakeholders results in a greater investment of time and money.

Time Pressure – Most of the time, the stakeholders operate under tight deadlines about their KRAs. Therefore, they lack a substantial amount of time to make the right and lucrative decision in selecting the right brand.

Myopic Vision for Initial Launches – The second challenge leads to the third hurdle. This is where due to time pressure, stakeholders make short-sighted decisions. Selecting a brand name with the long-term vision is important for possible future launches that a business may undertake.

Also Read: A Quick Guide to Trademark Electronic Search System

Conduct Quick and Cost-Effective Global Trademark Searches

Selecting the right brand with effective global trademark searches form the way to resolve the above challenges. It is essential to determine that the selected mark or brand name is available worldwide. The points below explain how global search can be conducted in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Quick Screening Solutions – AI & Manual: There are several DIY quick screening solutions, including AI-based and manual – available in the market. These enable the users to conduct a quick screening, narrow down options and make a decision immediately.

Cost and Time Effective Searches – You must narrow quick screening to 2-3 marks. Then, the professional support can carry out detailed searches to optimize the process, including time and cost. It speeds up the decision-making process, allowing users to reply to the product and market teams with the required details

Mapping Availability Across Major Markets – Similarly, trademark search service providers conduct a mapping process. This is against the key geographies of interest once companies provide them with multiple marks that need to be checked. The trademark search company then tells which marks are available in which countries.

The Way Forward – Global Trademark Registration and Monitoring

Global trademark search for selecting the right brand is just the first step in securing a trademark. Following this, you can continue with global registration and monitoring of trademarks. These processes are critical for companies to leverage their IP and boost growth. Thus, they must be performed in a timely and cost-effective manner. Therefore, this part of the article briefly talks about the challenges associated with these two successive steps. Also, it talks about how we can resolve them.

Challenges in Registering A Trademark Globally

Multiple Countries –The involvement of multiple geographies often acts as a roadblock to quick and cost-effective registration. Catering to multiple geographies for trademark registration can be a cumbersome process.

Multiple Partners –With the involvement of multiple partners, filing a trademark may involve challenges like determining whom to collaborate with. The process of interacting with multiple people can be labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Return on Investment (ROI) –The return on investment may deter businesses from succeeding with the global registration of a trademark.

Resolving Challenges of Registering Trademark Globally

One-Stop Solution For Trademark Filing -Multiple one-stop solution options in the market help optimize the global trademark filing process. To assist with the same, trademark search partners provide end-to-end support for all the activities about global trademark filing.

ROI Calculator –Several ROI calculators help to calculate the ROI of moving forward with trademark filing in specific countries. Then the results and market sizing can be compared further based on one’s requirements.

Challenges in Monitoring Trademarks Globally

High Cost and Lead Time – There’s no doubt that trademark monitoring in multiple countries is a cost-intensive and time-consuming process. Sagacious IP has catered to businesses who had earlier refrained from taking up global monitoring due to these factors. After receiving efficient global search services, we undertood how many months it took for the monitoring report.

Resolving Challenges Related to Global Monitoring

New Technologies – While challenges like these exist, it vital to consider that the technology has evolved to optimize such processes. It allows one to gather information to identify possible conflicts and trademark infringements via tools available in the market. For instance, Sagacious IP uses an AI-based search platform to provide instant reports based on quick searches. We provide them with a global trademark search for selected brands and deliver the report in 1-2 days. Similarly, we also provide global and multi-country monitoring for real-time reports.

DIY Approach –For cost-effective monitoring, businesses can also use DIY tools to conduct initial searches themselves. While most of them are subscriptions, a few cost-free mechanisms help to optimize the process. These include TMview and tools by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

Customizable and Timely Reports – IP solution providers support timely customized reports about the possible infringing marks filed by any competitor. Further, you can sought these on a daily, monthly and annual basis, which also includes manual screening. Experts who provide such professional services optimize the use of new monitoring technologies. Further, they blend the outcomes with their expertise on the subject matter to offer the best result to businesses.

Also Read: Hire a Trademark Attorney: What’s the Need?

Conclusion

When you conduct global trademark searches, it builds the foundation of a trademark application. It helps businesses to ascertain the availability of the mark in countries of interest before investing significantly in trademark registration. Further, conducting it quickly and cost-effectively boosts the growth of organizations and allows them to leverage their IP adequately.

TMReady’s trademark search services offer businesses all the critical insights they need before filing for a trademark. We provide cost-effective and result-driven trademark search plans to organizations. To watch a webinar on the subject, click here.

– Prateek Mohunta (COO), Gopal Singh Rawat (Trademark) and the Editorial Team