Trademark Search: How to Check if a Name Is Already Trademarked

You can check if a name is already trademarked by running a layered clearance search. Start with each country's official database for your target markets, then search WIPO's Global Brand Database for Madrid registrations, and widen your net with TMview. Look for identical and similar marks in the right classes.

If you want the first pass done for you, our free trademark check runs the same starting sweep and comes back with a plain answer.

What should I search first?

Search the official database in every market you plan to enter. That way, you catch earlier national and regional rights before you invest in branding.

• United States: use the USPTO's search portal and follow its guidance to look for similar marks, in the relevant classes of goods and services.
• European Union: use EUIPO's eSearch plus, which also shows International Registrations that designate the EU.
• United Kingdom: use the UK Intellectual Property Office's official search.

For other countries, start with the national office's database. Several smaller offices do not hold international registrations themselves and point searchers to WIPO instead, so plan on a WIPO pass as well.

How do I look beyond exact matches?

Start with the official approach. The USPTO tells applicants to search for similar marks, not only identical ones, and to search within the relevant goods and services classes. Apply that logic everywhere.

Practical tips we use in client searches:

• Variants and lookalikes: remove spaces and punctuation, try plural and singular, swap common letters, and test sound-alikes. Example: K, C, and Q swaps, or F vs PH.
• Word pieces: search each word, its stem, and key fragments. If your mark is RIVERGLASS, search RIVER, GLASS, and RIVER*.
• Translations and transliterations: if your brand is CITY SUN, search CIUDAD SOL or SHI TAI in relevant scripts where you plan to operate.
• Classes and goods: identify the right Nice classes and the real goods or services you will sell. Then search within those classes and review descriptions for close-by items. If you are not sure which classes fit, Class Assist walks you through it, and our guide to Nice Classification explains the system.
• Confusion risk: very similar names on related products are the top reason for refusals. Our explainer, Likelihood of Confusion: The #1 Reason Trademarks Get Refused, outlines how examiners compare marks and goods.

Do I also need to search WIPO's Global Brand Database?

Yes. WIPO's Global Brand Database lets you search international registrations filed through the Madrid System, plus many participating national and regional datasets, in one place. Madrid allows a single international application to seek protection in multiple countries, and those registrations are searchable there. EU designations also appear in EUIPO eSearch plus.

Why this matters: an international registration can extend to several of your target markets at once. If you only search one country's database, you can miss a Madrid registration that blocks you in several places.

When should I use TMview?

Use TMview to broaden your sweep across many IP offices in a single interface. It aggregates applications and registrations from participating offices worldwide, which makes it excellent for scouting conflicts across jurisdictions quickly.

That said, do not treat TMview as a substitute for the official national or regional search. Always confirm key results in the office of interest, then pull the full record.

What blind spots should I plan for?

Even a careful search has limits. Under the Paris Convention, an applicant has a six-month priority window from the first filing date. During that period, related foreign filings may not yet appear across all databases, especially outside the first-filed country. A prior right can still mature from those filings and surface later.

Practical steps that keep you clear:

• Re-run key searches just before filing.
• Search both national tools and WIPO's Global Brand Database for Madrid filings that may have posted after your first pass.
• If timing is tight, consider adjusting the mark or the goods scope to lower collision risk.

What does a reliable global clearance workflow look like?

Here is the approach we use with clients launching in two or more markets. It is fast, organized, and aligns with official guidance.

1) Map your markets and goods or services.

• List the countries or regions where you will use or sell in the next 12 to 24 months.
• Draft your goods and services in plain language. Then match them to likely Nice classes.

2) Search official national or regional databases.

• Use the USPTO, EUIPO eSearch plus, UK IPO, and the relevant national tools in your short list.
• Follow the USPTO's method everywhere: search for similar marks and in the relevant classes.

3) Search WIPO's Global Brand Database.

• Capture Madrid registrations and participating national or regional data.
• Pay attention to designations that match your target countries.

4) Sweep with TMview.

• Scan for conflicts across many offices, then drill into any hits at the source office.

5) Evaluate and document your findings.

• Group hits into identical, highly similar, and somewhat similar, and note classes and goods proximity.
• Use refusal logic to score each one. Our primer on Likelihood of Confusion can anchor your calls.

6) Decide your path.

• Green light: no material conflicts. File now, then monitor. See Trademark Monitoring and Enforcement for what happens after registration.
• Yellow light: similar marks in close classes. Consider a modest tweak, narrower goods, or a co-existence dialogue.
• Red light: identical or near-identical marks on the same goods. Choose a new brand. It is cheaper than a refusal or an opposition.

A real example from our files: a consumer tech brand cleared in the US and EU, then we re-ran checks a month later and caught a new Madrid international registration designating the UK. It had been filed within five months of a first filing abroad. It did not appear in one regional tool yet, but it was live in WIPO's Global Brand Database. That early catch saved a rebrand in the UK.

Can I get help using the official tools?

Yes. In the US, Patent and Trademark Resource Centers offer public assistance with USPTO trademark searches and tools. If you would rather have one coordinated read across markets, we run the search, explain what the hits mean, and give you a clear yes or no with the evidence attached. How It Works sets out the steps from search to filing, and our US trademark filing service picks up from there, with a GTC US-licensed attorney acting as counsel of record.

If a term in a search report is unfamiliar, the glossary has it in plain English.

Related reading:

• Trademark Searches: Beyond Google, Comprehensive Tools and Best Practices
• US vs EU Trademark: Which Should Your Business File First?
• How to Trademark a Name: The 2026 Step-by-Step Guide

Sources

• USPTO: Search our trademark database
• EUIPO: eSearch plus
• UK IPO: Search for a trade mark
• WIPO: Global Brand Database
• WIPO: Madrid System
• EUIPO: TMview