Before filing a trademark application, it is opportune to carry out an appropriate trademark search to identify any conflicting trademarks, ascertaining whether a third party has prior use of a projected trademark and then advising our clients on the availability of trademarks in Italy, European Union and worldwide.
If identical or similar trademarks have been already registered or previously applied for, then the chances of successful registration will be small. Therefore it is important to first conduct a search, to check whether any similar trademark has already been registered or applied for. Searches usually cover Italian, Community and International (W.I.P.O.) Trademark Registries. A further search of company names in the Italian Trademark Registry and among domain names like *.it, *.com, *.net, *.org, *.gov, *.edu, *.biz, *.info, *.eu and *.sm is recommended in order to better assess the availability of the trademark.
Domain names searches are carried out to verify the risk of a new trademark or domain name infringing on the trademark rights of another domain name owner.
We offer a comprehensive range of trademark searches in Italy, European Union or in registers of countries specifically selected and worldwide, particularly the following types:
These searches identify identical earlier trademarks under various spellings or phonetic equivalents.
Similar trademarks are identified by utilizing a complex strategy of analysis and verifying similarities under a visual, phonetic and conceptual point of view.
These searches provide a check on trademarks filed or registered by a competitor.