|
Related Topic(s):
-
Why conduct a trademark search?
-
Do I need a legal opinion?
-
Which search firms are best?
-
Why should I hire you?
Synopsis: Our
preliminary searches are as thorough as any, and more thorough than
most. They help eliminate obvious conflicts up front, before
you've spent considerable sums on a full search. When you're ready
to order a full search, we provide free advise to clients in selecting the appropriate search
firm and search product, we order the search for you (with our discount
privileges when applicable), and supervise the search firm so they
implement an appropriate search strategy for your trademark. Our
legal opinions can help you decipher the search results, asses domain name
investment opportunities, or evaluate the value of a trademark or domain
name.
Preliminary Search
(knock-off search)
A preliminary search identifies obvious
conflicts with existing marks, and thus reduces the odds that your full
search (costing $200 - $400) will reveal a fatal conflict. A
preliminary search also helps narrow down the choices for possible
trademarks, by flagging those with the greatest chance of infringing an
existing mark.
Our preliminary searches include a
review of federal and state registered trademarks, pending federal
trademark applications, as well as the dot com, dot net and dot org domain
names.
The databases we use to complete a
preliminary search are just as up-to-date as those of professional searching firms. Nonetheless, a preliminary search is no substitute for a full
word or graphic search because preliminary searches are only done for
identical marks, and do not include common law searching.
Cost: preliminary searches are FREE to all clients
purchasing a Trademark Protection Package.
Otherwise, the preliminary search costs $125 with domain names, or $85
without domain names.
Recommended
Search - Word (lingual)
marks
A word search will identify, on the average, 70-100
trademarks already being used by others, all of which warrant closer scrutiny.
The vast majority of these marks will not be a problem for you, if you
wish to adopt your chosen word or phrase as a trademark. However,
you will want a legal opinion of which
marks identified in a search will present the greatest risk to your
business, and determine what level of risk you are facing.
Computers are better at trademark
searching than humans. For this reason, we do not conduct searches
internally, but instead shop that work out to the professional search
firms that can best meet your particular needs. Because of our
familiarity with this industry, we know who has the best rates, and who
has the best quality. As a courtesy to all clients purchasing
a trademark protection package, we can
advise you on which of many search options makes the most sense for your
particular situation. We receive no kickbacks for recommending one firm
over another, but we can often negotiate a reduced rate, due to our volume of
referrals. Furthermore, we will work with the search firm to make sure
they generate appropriate search strategies. We have caught even the
most reputable search firms slacking on effective searching.
Cost: we charge nothing to arrange a
search for our clients. The average search firm charges between $200
and $400 for a full U.S. search. Prices can increase dramatically
for international searching.
Recommended Search
- Graphic (Design) marks
Like word mark searching, searching design marks
helps identify potential infringement lawsuits before they happen.
Because pictures and designs are far more intricate and complex than words
in terms of comparing and contrasting them, design mark searching is far
more expensive than word searching. For this reason, cheaper search
firms will often search a very narrow scope of products and services, sometimes
within only one international
class.
Cost: we charge nothing to arrange a
search for our clients. The average cost for an adequate design mark
search ranges from $700 to $1,000. Costs can increase dramatically
for international searching.
Legal Opinions
A trademark legal opinion can be invaluable in many contexts. By far
the most common is the availability opinion, also known as a clearance
opinion. Opinions can also be used to assess the value of your
trademark mark or domain name, or even to assess your chances at
succeeding in trademark litigation, useful when you're attorney believes
you have a borderline case. Also, obtaining a second opinion on any
of these topics can prove extremely useful, since trademark law is inherently
subjective. As such, one attorney's judgment may reasonably differ
from another's, just as with medical doctors.
Availability Opinion:
Bare Bones: This opinion costs $200 and
assesses whether your proposed mark is likely to infringe an existing
mark so blatantly that you could be considered a knowing and willful
infringer. This is a bare bones To reduce costs, this opinion
identifies and you receive a written summary of the full
opinion.
Recommended Opinion: This opinion costs $390, and looks
beyond the willful infringement question and assesses whether your mark
is worthy of long-term investment. It examines borderline risks of
infringement, evaluates your proposed mark's legal strength, and
identifies any potential problems you may have in pursuing a federal
trademark registration, as well as suggestions for overcoming
infringement claims and registration objections, should they
arise. Use this opinion for company name marks, as well as for
product or service marks planned for heavy future expansion and
investment.
Domain Name Investment Opinion
The Domain Name opinion costs $125 (or $230 with domain
name registration). It assesses whether or not your proposed
domain name is likely to lead to a trademark infringement or
cybersquatting lawsuit, and identifies the specific risks you may be
taking in acquiring the domain name. A trademark search may also
be necessary, depending on the nature of your inquiry.
Valuation Opinions
A valuation opinion ranges from $200 to $1,500 or more,
depending on the trademark or domain name in question. The more
extensively a trademark and or domain names has been used in business,
the more expensive the valuation opinion, due to the more extensive
research and analysis involved.
|
