HOW TO SEARCH FOR ACTIVE AND EXPIRED TRADEMARKS by ResearchCopyright.com

Once a trademark application is filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the USPTO will search their records of trademarks for conflicting and similar marks as part of the examination process.

The applicant should check the USPTO records their self before filing their trademark application to save time down the road. The USPTO would still have to search the records as a part of the application process, but it would allow the applicant to check and see if there is already a trademark on record that is similar to the mark they wish to file. In this way it would allow the applicant to change their mark from the one they wish to file to one that is not already in the record.

There are three ways for people research the trademark archives. One way is through the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) online at the USPTO website. The second way is at the Trademark Public Search Library in Alexandria, Virginia. The third way is to visit a Patent and Trademark Depository Library. There are many PTDS branches in the United States. Each library has CD-ROMs containing the entire database of registered and pending trademarks, however, these CD-ROMs do not contain images of the marks.

Given these limitations, the most effective method to search the USPTO's list of pending and approved trademarks is through TESS. This database is online and is free for the general public to use. It contains a database suitable for searching through pending, registered, and dead trademarks.

Dead trademarks are those marks whose maintenance fees have not been paid and have ceased to be protected trademarks. This does not mean that these marks are now free for public use, as the original applicant may still be using them.

When using TESS, there are several options to choose from when searching for marks. Here is a listing of them:

1. Basic Word Mark Search.

This search option cannot be used to find design marks, only the text of the trademark.

2. Word and/or Design Mark Search (structured).

This option allows you to search the word and the design marks. You must know the Design Codes in order to use this function (there is a link on the page to a page with the codes).

3. Word and/or Design Mark Search (Free Form).

This allows you to use Boolean search and use multiple search fields.

There are also two more additional search options.

1. Browse Dictionary.

This option browses all fields in the database and returns results alphabetically, like a dictionary.

2. Search OG Publication Date or Registration Date.

This allows you to search the Official Gazette for trademarks published on a specific date.

However, the Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries do have quite a bit of information at their disposal. Each location has computers set up to search through TESS, so if after searching through the CD-ROMs, you come across a description of a mark that is similar to your own, you can easily transition to TESS and find the image of the trademark in question.

Each PTDL contains a wealth of materials such as accesses to patent information, access to the Official Gazette of the US Patent and Trademark Office, and various other manuals in many formats.

Each of these search methods has their strengths and their weaknesses. Of these three however, the strongest has to be TESS. The other methods may not be available to everyone as not every city or state has a PTDL, though it would be a good idea to check the USPTO website to see if there is one in your area.