·14 min read
Trademark Clearance Search: A Practical Guide for Founders
How to do a trademark clearance search before filing. A 5-step process covering databases, fuzzy matching, risk assessment, and when to hire an attorney.
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Guides Articles
How-tos and best practices for trademark search, patent analysis, and IP management
Drew Mercer
·13 min read
How to Check If a Name Is Trademarked (Step-by-Step Guide for 2026)
612,000+ trademark applications hit the USPTO last year. Here's how to check if your name is trademarked, step by step, across US and international databases.
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·10 min read
Is Your Business Name Trademarked? How to Find Out
Over 2.7M active trademarks are registered at the USPTO alone. Here's how to check if your business name is already trademarked and what to do about it.
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·10 min read
What Is Trademark Monitoring? A Developer's Guide to Protecting Your Brand Programmatically
Trademark monitoring watches global databases for filings that could conflict with your brand. Learn what it is, why developers need it, and how to automate it.
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·9 min read
How Nice Classification Works: A Developer's Guide to Trademark Categories
Nice classification organizes trademarks into 45 classes of goods and services. Learn how the system works, common edge cases, and how to query class data via API.
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·13 min read
Trademark Application: What You Need Before Filing
Filing a trademark application? The 6-step prep checklist: clearance search, filing basis, goods and services, Nice classes, specimens, and common mistakes.
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·13 min read
What Is a Trademark? What It Protects, What It Costs, and When You Need One
What is a trademark? A mark that identifies the source of goods or services. Learn what trademarks protect, what they cost, and when your business needs one.
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·17 min read
Free Trademark Search: What the Best Tools Actually Cover (and Where They Stop)
A free trademark search catches the obvious conflicts fast. The 8 tools worth using, what each one covers, and where free stops being enough.
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·19 min read
Trademark Infringement: What It Is, How Courts Test for It, and What to Do Next
Trademark infringement costs $375K+ to litigate. Learn what it means legally, how courts test for it, the penalties, and what to do if you're on either side.
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·15 min read
Amazon Brand Registry: Trademark Requirements, Enrollment Steps, and What You Actually Get
Amazon Brand Registry requires a trademark to enroll. Learn eligibility requirements, enrollment steps, costs, and the tools you unlock in 2026.
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·15 min read
Trademark vs Patent vs Copyright: What Each Protects, What Each Costs, and Which You Actually Need
Trademark vs copyright vs patent: real costs ($65 to $20K+), timelines, and durations compared. Learn which IP protection your business actually needs.
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·15 min read
How to Trademark a Phrase: A Complete Guide
Learn how to trademark a phrase at the USPTO. Covers distinctiveness tests, filing steps, $250-$350 fees, and the mistakes that get applications refused.
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·13 min read
How Long Does a Trademark Last? Duration, Renewal Deadlines, and What Happens If You Miss One
How long does a trademark last? US marks last 10 years but need maintenance at year 5. Learn deadlines, fees, grace periods, and what a missed filing costs.
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·16 min read
How to Trademark a Logo: What Changes When Your Mark Is a Design
How to trademark a logo at the USPTO: design search codes, specimen rules, composite vs. separate filing, and the mistakes that sink design mark applications.
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·18 min read
How Much Does a Trademark Cost? The Real Numbers for 2026
Trademark cost in 2026: $350/class government fee, $1,000-$2,500 for attorney help, plus renewal fees. Full breakdown of every cost from filing to maintenance.
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·23 min read
How to Trademark a Name: What the Process Costs, How Long It Takes, and Where Applications Fail
How to trademark a name at the USPTO: filing steps, $250-$350 per class fees, 12-18 month timeline, and the mistakes that get 20% of applications refused.
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·22 min read
How Trademark Registration Works: From Clearance Search to Registration Certificate
Trademark registration at the USPTO explained step by step: clearance searches, filing bases, examination, costs, and timelines. Data-backed 2026 guide.
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·12 min read
TESS Is Gone: How to Search Trademarks in 2026
The TESS trademark search system was retired in 2023. Every current option for searching trademarks in 2026, from the USPTO replacement to global databases to APIs.
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·10 min read
How to Name a Brand That Can Actually Be Trademarked
Nearly half of all USPTO trademark applications are rejected. Most failures trace back to the same mistake: choosing a name that describes what you do instead of who you are. Here's how to use the Abercrombie spectrum, AI-era cautionary tales, and a 5-step naming process to pick a name that sticks — legally.
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·12 min read
China Trademark Squatting: The $60M Problem and How to Defend Your Brand
A data-backed guide to defending your brand against trademark squatting in China — covering CNIPA's crackdown on bad-faith filings, famous cases from Apple to New Balance, the first-to-file system, China's subclass strategy, and a practical defensive playbook with real cost estimates.
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·12 min read
The Practitioner's Guide to Global Trademark Filing in 2026
A data-backed guide to multi-jurisdiction trademark filing — with real fee tables, Madrid vs. direct filing analysis, a worked five-country cost example, and the Nice Classification 13th Edition changes you need to plan around.
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·10 min read
Nice Classification 2026: What Changed, What Moved, and What You Need To Do
The 13th Edition of the Nice Classification took effect January 1, 2026, bringing the largest structural changes in a decade. Eyewear moved to Class 10, AIaaS landed in Class 42, and essential oils split across four classes. Here is every major reclassification, who is affected, and exactly how to update your search and filing workflows.
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