Comparison

Signa vs MarkerAPI:
Multi-office vs US-only trademark search

Both Signa and MarkerAPI are developer-first trademark APIs with self-serve access. The main difference is coverage. Signa searches 11 trademark offices. MarkerAPI searches USPTO only.

At a Glance

Signa vs MarkerAPI Overview

Signa

Trademark API across 11 offices

11 trademark offices in one API, with marks protected in 130+ countries
Fuzzy and phonetic search
AI-powered clearance analysis and risk scoring
Real-time monitoring with webhooks
Modern auth (Bearer tokens), JSON responses
Full entity data: owners, attorneys, firms, proceedings

MarkerAPI

US trademark search API

Simple, straightforward API for USPTO data
Low pricing — starts free, $25-$100/month for heavy use
Five clear endpoints: search, serial, owner, description, expiration
Long-established service (operational for years)
Easy to learn with minimal endpoints
High rate limits on paid plans (up to 10M searches/month)

Feature Comparison

Feature

Signa

MarkerAPI

Coverage

Trademark offices

1 (USPTO only)

US trademarks (USPTO)

EU trademarks (EUIPO)

WIPO (Madrid)

UK trademarks (UKIPO)

China trademarks (CNIPA)

Via Madrid designations

Japan trademarks (JPO)

Via Madrid designations

Multi-jurisdiction search

Single API call

Not available

Search Capabilities

Text search

Wildcard search

Fuzzy matching

Phonetic matching

Image/logo search

Planned

Owner search

Description search

Expiration search

Classification search

Attorney/firm search

Data Quality

Fields per record

50+

Trademark images

Nice classification details

Code only

Owner entity resolution

Attorney/firm data

Prosecution history

Priority dates

Document retrieval

Analysis & Monitoring

Clearance analysis

Similarity scoring

Risk assessment

Trademark monitoring

Unlimited monitors

10 search terms max

Webhook notifications

Developer Experience

Authentication

Bearer token (OAuth 2.0)

Username/password in URL

Response format

JSON (normalized)

JSON

SDKs

Python, Node.js, Go

PHP examples only

OpenAPI spec

Webhooks

Rate limit transparency

Pricing

Free tier

1,000 calls/month

1,000 searches/month

Entry plan

$49/month

$25/month

Mid-tier

$199/month

$50/month

High-volume

$499/month

$100/month (10M searches)

Price per call (est.)

~$0.005-0.05

~$0.00001-0.025

Multi-office search vs US-only search

One API call to Signa searches 11 trademark offices. MarkerAPI is limited to USPTO.

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Our Analysis

The Verdict

MarkerAPI is a solid, affordable choice if you only need US trademark data with basic search. Signa is the choice for anything beyond that: offices outside the US, advanced matching, clearance analysis, monitoring, and richer data. MarkerAPI is cheaper per call, but Signa returns richer data per call, with 50+ fields across 11 trademark offices vs 10 fields from one office.

Best for

Signa

Any project needing non-US trademark data
Applications requiring fuzzy or phonetic search
Teams building clearance or monitoring features
Products serving international markets
Projects needing rich entity data (owners, attorneys, firms)

Best for

MarkerAPI

Simple US-only trademark lookup tools
Budget-sensitive projects with basic search needs
Quick prototypes or MVPs focused on USPTO data
High-volume, simple serial number lookups
Projects where cost-per-call is the primary concern

Recommendation

Choose MarkerAPI for simple, affordable US-only trademark lookups. Choose Signa for everything else: offices outside the US, advanced search, clearance analysis, and monitoring.

FAQs

Common questions about Signa vs MarkerAPI

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