The Importance of a Trade Mark Clearance Search

The importance of brand protection should never be overlooked.  You create a new brand, spending copious amounts of time and money in registering the company, acquiring the relevant domains, creating the products or offering the services only to then receive notice that a third party has earlier rights to a brand which is identical or very similar to yours.  This can be frustrating. So, what can you do? The answer, a trade mark clearance search.

Trade mark clearance searches are crucial for several reasons. Primarily, they help identify any existing identical or confusingly similar trade marks that could pose obstacles to the use or registration of a new trade mark. This is essential to avoid potential infringement actions and to ensure that the new trade mark can be used and registered without legal complications

Conducting clearance searches involves examining trade mark registry databases in the relevant jurisdictions, as well as searching for unregistered marks, company names, and domain names. This comprehensive approach helps to clarify the risk of infringement and identify any potential obstacles to registration.  In summary, trade mark clearance searches are a vital step in the trade mark registration process, helping to ensure that new marks can be used and registered without infringing on existing rights, thereby protecting the business from potential legal and financial risks.

Subject to the results of any trade mark clearance search, you can then weigh up the commercial risk and whether it is worth the potential litigation that may ensue if a third party has earlier rights.

Briffa is a firm of specialist intellectual property lawyers and we offer all new clients a free initial consultation meeting.  To speak to one of our lawyers, just email info@briffa.com or call 020 7096 2779.