Clearance Searching
We cannot overstate the need for all of our clients to ensure the availability of new marks.
Thousands of trade marks are already owned by other organisations and before using any new mark you should ensure that there will be no infringement of the rights of others. The consequences of using a mark that is the same or similar to someone else's mark could be commercially disastrous – you could be stopped from using the mark and you could be liable to pay damages to whoever owns the existing rights.
Also, if you have a mark that is already in use but which is now to be used in a new country or for a new range of goods or services, you need to ensure that your expanded use will not lead to conflict with the rights of others.
It is therefore very important to ensure that any new mark, or any extended use of an existing mark, does not conflict with prior rights of others.
We can make enquiries in order to ascertain availability of the marks that you want to use.
There are different types of search. A preliminary search for any new mark involves checking in the country of immediate commercial interest in respect of the product/service category for which the mark is intended to be used. Where “knock-out” prior rights are found, we need search no further.
In other circumstances, a more in-depth intermediate search may be appropriate – to cover potentially similar marks and potentially related product/service fields and to extend to other countries of potential interest. We can arrange for more extensive searching to be conducted and then provide advice as to the relevance of such prior registrations and pending applications as might be identified.
On occasion, it might be further necessary and appropriate to make a full search to ascertain whether a new mark that is free from conflict with existing registered rights might run into objection on the basis of rights of third parties acquired at common law through use. Again, we can obtain suitable reports on your behalf and advise you as to whether objection might be likely to arise or sustainable should it arise.
We will consult with you as to the most appropriate search strategy to be adopted for the new marks that you want to use.
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