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The Beatles' Apple Corps and Apple Computer waged a 30-year legal battle that ultimately cost the tech giant approximately $500 million to secure their name. This cautionary story highlights a crucial truth: comprehensive trademark searching isn't bureaucratic red tape—it's your brand's most critical first investment.
A prior, geographically limited common law right can block a federal registration. You must search both realms.
Not all trademarks are created equal. Their inherent strength determines the level of legal protection they can obtain. Stronger marks are easier to register and protect.
Search the official database for registered and pending federal marks.
Scour the internet, social media, state databases, and industry publications.
Assess whether your mark is confusingly similar to others based on key legal factors.
This is the final arbiter. Courts and the USPTO use the "DuPont Factors" to make this determination, with the first two factors being most critical.
How similar are the marks in sound, sight, and meaning?
Are the products/services related or sold to the same consumers?
A "descriptive" term can become a strong trademark if consumers recognize it as identifying a specific brand (i.e., acquiring "secondary meaning").
Protection can extend beyond names to the overall appearance of products ("trade dress"). Intentional copying is strong evidence of infringement.
Famous marks receive protection against uses that, while not confusing, may tarnish or dilute the brand's reputation.
A trademark's greatest threat is becoming the generic name for a category of products. You must actively monitor and protect your mark's distinctiveness.
Always use your trademark as an adjective (like "a Kleenex® brand tissue"), never as a noun or verb.