Want to handle your own trademark prosecution without paying a lawyer? Here’s the deal:
First google the heck out of the new name, including alternative spellings, to see if it or any variant of it is used as the brand name of a similar product.
Drop the exclamation point. If the proposed name is “JOIN!”, for example, I would want to google that plus “goin”, “john”, “joyne”, “joinerz”, “join my club”, and the like. When searching, you are trying to ensure that no one is using a similar brand in overall look and feel, so you have to check for close phonetics, plurals, reversals, and other variants.
Secondly revisit uspto.gov under “trademark search” and search on all the same terms you just googled. “JOIN” alone returns 800 hits.
Third, look for any domain names using any of the search terms.
Finally, search every state’s corporate name database for companies using the brand name.
Just fyi, for me to do a comprehensive trademark search as above and render a written opinion as to the level risk associated with using the mark in commerce and attempting to register the mark at the USPTO, runs about $1500.
If you file the trademark application, with or without the benefit of further searching, be sure to pick your class accurately and be sure that the specimen accurately reflects the brand in use on the goods as described in the description of goods and services.
