Which trademark registries should I search first?

Start with the registries covering the markets you will actually trade in. For most English-language brands that means USPTO (US), EUIPO (EU), IP Australia, CIPO (Canada), and WIPO for international registrations extended through the Madrid Protocol.

Does a clear trademark search mean the name is safe?

No. A registry search is a screening step, not a legal clearance. It cannot see unregistered common-law rights, very recent filings not yet published, or company names registered outside the trademark system. A clear search lowers risk; only an attorney opinion clears it.

What are Nice classes and how many do I need?

The Nice Classification splits goods and services into 45 classes. You only need the classes covering what you actually sell — typically one to three. Conflicts matter most within your classes and closely related ones.

Legal Screening

How to Check a Brand Name Across Trademark Registries

Searching a registry is easy. Reading the result correctly is the part that saves you a rebrand. Here is what each register covers, what the statuses mean, and where searches quietly mislead you.

What a registry search proves — and what it doesn't

A trademark search tells you whether someone has already claimed a similar mark for similar goods in a specific jurisdiction. That is genuinely useful: it eliminates the obvious collisions early, before you spend money on identity, packaging, or ads.

What it does not tell you: whether an unregistered business has common-law rights (very real in the US, UK and Canada), whether an application filed last week is still unpublished, or whether a court would find two marks "confusingly similar". Screening reduces risk. Clearance is an attorney's job.

The registries that matter

USPTO

United States

Federal US marks and applications

Search TESS/TSDR. US also recognises unregistered common-law rights, so a clear register is not a full clearance.

See how Preemp screens USPTO →

EUIPO

European Union

EU trade marks (EUTM) across all member states

One filing covers the whole EU — which also means one conflict anywhere in the EU can block you everywhere.

See how Preemp screens EUIPO →

IP Australia

Australia

Australian trade marks

Useful early signal for English-language marks; examination is relatively strict on descriptiveness.

See how Preemp screens IP Australia →

CIPO

Canada

Canadian trade marks

Bilingual market — check the French reading of your name as well as the English one.

See how Preemp screens CIPO →

WIPO

International

Madrid Protocol international registrations

Shows marks extended into multiple countries from a single base filing. Good breadth check.

See how Preemp screens WIPO →

Nice classes, without the jargon

Trademarks are not owned in the abstract — they are owned for specific goods and services, sorted into 45 categories called Nice classes. Classes 1–34 are goods, 35–45 are services. Most companies need one to three.

A software company usually files in class 42 (software as a service) and often 9 (downloadable software) and 35 (business services). An identical name in class 30 (coffee) is generally not a conflict — unless the mark is famous, in which case it can be.

Reading mark statuses

Status

What it means

What to do

Live / Registered

Enforceable right exists

Treat as a hard blocker in the same or related classes

Pending

Filed, not yet examined or granted

Real risk — it may register before you launch

Opposed

A third party is contesting registration

Signals a litigious owner; avoid the space

Abandoned / Dead

No longer in force

Usually safe, but check why it lapsed and whether use continued

Expired

Renewal missed

May be revivable within a grace period — verify dates

Where searches give false negatives

Phonetic equivalents. An exact-string search for "Klaro" misses "Claro". Examiners compare sound, not spelling.
Translations. In the EU, a mark that translates to an existing mark in another member-state language can be refused.
Design marks. A logo mark containing your word may not surface in a plain word search.
Publication lag. Filings can take weeks to appear. Re-run the search before you file.
Prefix and suffix families. Owners of "Nova-" marks routinely oppose new "Nova-" entrants in the same class.

When to bring in an attorney

Screen broadly yourself to cut the list from fifty names to three. Then pay for a legal clearance opinion on the finalist — before launch, before packaging, and definitely before you file. The cost of an opinion is a fraction of a forced rebrand.

Start a brief, get a screened shortlist

Preemp generates names from your strategic brief and runs the multi-registry screen on them, so you see the conflict landscape before you commit.

Start a brief

This article is general information, not legal advice. Trademark screening results are indicative and do not constitute a clearance opinion.

Validation