How it works
What the search covers, what it cannot, and why it is free.
Where the data comes from
USPTO publishes every US federal trademark as bulk XML. We keep a local copy of 4.8 million live marks and refresh it daily. Your search runs against that index, which is why it answers in a second or two rather than sending you to a government form.
What we look for
An exact match on the mark, and anything one character away. Spaces and hyphens are ignored, so HY-VITA and hyvita are treated as the same string — a domain can carry neither.
What a near match means, and usually does not
Almost every short name has one. There are around 320,000 live six-letter marks, so a string one letter from yours very likely exists somewhere. What matters is the class. A near match in floor coverings is not a conflict for a software company; the same match in your own industry usually is.
What this does not cover
US federal registrations only. Not state registrations, not common-law rights that arise from somebody simply using a name, and nothing outside the United States. A clear result here is a good sign, not a clearance.
Why it is free
We built the index for our own work, so answering your search costs us almost nothing. We also sell domain names, which is a separate thing on a separate page.
We never register a name you check
A name you type here is your idea. Registering it before you could would be taking something handed over in trust. We keep the aggregate pattern of which kinds of categories people search, and nothing that identifies you: no account, no address, no email.