Intellectual property rights (IPR) are of extreme significance for individual innovators as well as prominent companies. Trademark is one such IPR that helps businesses to establish the uniqueness of their goods and services.
However, before filing for a trademark, companies need to determine its novelty in the region of interest. That’s where the role of multi-country trademark search comes into play. Let’s discuss the top four reasons why businesses should opt for multi-country trademark search.
Also Read: An Introduction to Filing a Trademark with USPTO
What is a Multi-country Trademark Search?
Multi-country trademark search is a mechanism for businesses to determine the uniqueness and novelty of their trademark in several countries at once, especially when companies are looking for the opportunity to explore their business in multiple countries.
This type of search is also important for businesses to evade trademark infringement lawsuits by ensuring that no other company is using the trademark under consideration. Similarly, multi-country searches save time by helping businesses to find the existing trademark applications, their status, and owners within the international database.
Also Read: How Trademark Monitoring Protects Brand Reputation
Process of Conducting Multi-Country Trademark Searches
Oftentimes, businesses hire a third-party search partner to attain high-quality outcomes during the search process. Therefore, to fall in line with these objectives, TMReady uses a paid database to conduct multi-country trademark search. The database, made of highly-specified algorithms, significantly reduces the chances of errors during the search.
After extracting the required data from the paid database, a search is conducted through the individual database (country-wise/national PTOs) for better results. Once the information is verified, it is shared with the clients. We can change the table (as shown below) as per further instructions.
| S. No. | Trademark Name | Countries | Goods & Services | Classes | App. No. | App. Date | Reg. No. | Reg. Date | Status | Owner |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
For instance, a client wants to identify trademarks that are relevant to his proposed trademark. The IP solutions provider can formulate a strategy as per his requirement and perform a multi-country trademark search. This will identify all trademarks that are phonetically similar and have the closest possible combinations and variations.
Also Read: US Trademark Search – How to do TM Search Easily
Top 4 Advantages of a Multi-Country Trademark Search
One-Step Solution
Multi-country trademark search is a one-step solution for companies to manage the business at a worldwide platform in an economic manner. Thus, a trademark owner should register his rights in each country where it wants to seek protection. Therefore, a multi-country search helps in identifying the novelty of the trademark and potential infringements in multiple countries through a single search.
Optimizes Trademark Filing
Multi-country trademark search allows businesses to identify whether their chosen trademark name, logo, or design will be available in the countries they wish to register in. Further, the results help them to effectively move forward with the filing of a trademark. The process also helps to save the cost of searching trademarks in each country of interest separately.
Identifies Weak Trademark
When the number of countries where businesses want to file a trademark increases, the amount of data to be analyzed – to determine potential infringements and trademark similarities – also increases.
Therefore, either business can choose to conduct a trademark search in every country of interest separately, or at once.A multi-country trademark search helps companies to find whether the trademark in question is weak or difficult to protect by analyzing the international database.
Trademark Assessment
Conducting a trademark search separately for each country in their languages is a costly process. Therefore, the multi-country search clubs the whole process in a single search and saves costs of searching trademarks separately for each country in its language. Moreover, these results help businesses to assess their trademark.
Also Read: Top 10 Use Cases of Trademark Availability Search and Watch
Conclusion
A strong and unique trademark helps businesses to establish their company brand so that consumers can identify them easily. Therefore, before registering a trademark or expanding a business to other countries, a multi-country trademark search should be conducted to avoid potential conflicts related to trademark infringement. The process not only saves time but also the resources of an organization.
TMReady’s state-of-art trademark search services are designed to offer customers the valuable insights required before filing for a trademark. Our trademark search solutions are cost-effective and tailored to suit the specific requirements of clients.
– Aditi Yadav (Trademark) and the Editorial Team
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