Filing for a trademark registration can be expensive and the process is lengthy: therefore, it pays to do your own trademark searches before filing your application. IP Australia, the governing body for trademark law in Australia, has a variety of search resources available to you. You should also consider seeking the advice of a trademark attorney before filing your application.
How to Conduct Your Own Trademark Search
Step one: The first step in conducting your own trade mark search is to conduct a preliminary search of IP Australia’s databases. By doing this informal search, you will uncover results of whether your mark is currently being used by a registered or unregistered party. If you attempt to register a trademark that is already being used, you may be held liable for trademark infringement, even if the other party has not formally registered your trademark. By conducting a preliminary trademark search, you can quickly reveal whether your mark is unique and not used by other parties, and you can also avoid being sued for infringement.
You can do a basic search through a search engine like Google. This will reveal whether your mark is widely used, but not whether your mark is eligible for registration.
You should also access IP Australia lookup tools. You can start by using the ATMOSS database. Use this database to find out if your proposed mark is being used for products or services similar to yours: for example, you may want to register your mark as a mark for your own line of hair products. You should look for similar brands on bottles of shampoo, hair sprays, hair oils, hair ties, and other related products.
Please note that your initial search results cannot tell you whether or not your mark is eligible for registration. The purpose of this initial search is to find out whether or not your mark can be used.
Second step: Once you’ve done your initial search, you can use the other ATMOSS and IP Australia search tools to perform a comprehensive search of all Australian trademark databases. These searches will allow you to see brands that are not only identical to yours, but also similar to it.
You can start your exhaustive search by entering a specific search query in the appropriate ATMOSS fields. You should look for words that are not only identical to those included in your brand, but also those that are similar.
The purpose of this search is to identify trademarks in use that are similar to yours and therefore could lead to infringement issues if you proceed with your trademark application. To find these brands, you have to get creative with your search terms. Include terms that are only part of your own trademark; change the order of words within your trademark; change spelling and look up synonyms; add quotes and search for exact phrases. Using the hair products example above, you may want to register the Glamor Hair Care Range. In this case, you would search for a number of different phrases: ‘glam hair’, ‘glam care’, ‘hair care range’, etc. You can also vary the spelling: ‘hare’ instead of hair, ‘glama’, ‘glamour’ or ‘glamor’ instead of glamour. You must be thorough in your search to ensure that you have uncovered all possible instances of infringement.
Hire a Trademark Professional to Conduct Your Search
Conducting a trademark search is a complex process for those unfamiliar with the process. It’s easy to miss a step or use the wrong search terms, so no identical or similar trademarks are discovered that could pose a threat of infringement. When you hire a trademark attorney to do the search for you, you will receive a professional opinion on whether or not your trademark is eligible for registration. A trademark attorney will have more access to additional search resources and will also be able to interpret search results more accurately.
Similarly, a trademark attorney can offer you legal guidance if you discover multiple trademarks similar to yours. You may not want to change your trademark: in this case, you will need the advice of a lawyer. You can’t browse the legal complications of trademark infringement alone.
You may be able to conduct an initial trademark search on your own, but it is recommended that you seek the advice of a trademark attorney before beginning a comprehensive search, and especially before submitting your application. A trademark attorney can draft your application before it is filed to give your trademark the best chance of achieving registration and therefore protection from infringement.
