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Begin by performing a trademark search. You can hire a professional service to perform a trademark search for you. This fee for this service can range between $300 and $1,200. The value of such professional search services has been eclipsed by free services on the internet.

▼ Definition

A trademark is a word or mark that distinctly indicates ownership of a product and is legally reserved for the exclusive use of the owner.

A service mark is the same as a trademark but for services rather than goods.

The terms are interchangeable and their meanings are nearly identical.

You can search registered and pending trademarks at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office web site at www.uspto.gov, using the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS). Use the New User Form Search. In the search window, enter the name that you wish to use in the “Search Term” box. Make sure the “Field” term is set to “Combined Word Mark.” To ensure that your search effectively locates all potential conflicts, be sure to do the following:

• Search for phonetic variants of your proposed name, because phonetically similar marks can cause a trademark conflict. For example, if you want to use the name Cybertech, search for Cybertek, Cybertex, Sybertex, etc.

• Search for both the plural and singular versions of your proposed name.

• If your name uses more than one word, search for each word individually.

• Follow the instructions in the use of “wildcard” search terms.

Searching for trademarks is an imperfect science; no search can be expected to discover all potential users of a mark. Trademark rights are created by the use of a mark and not by registration. Thus, unregistered marks may be valid marks—and they are much more difficult to discover. The last step of your trademark conflict search should be an internet search with one of the popular search engines. Such a search will likely discover any use of your proposed name.