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Start your trademark search at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website, www.uspto.gov

In Canada, you can do a trademark search on the website of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, www.cipo.ic.gc.ca

And remember, you may run into difficulty if you use a name that is similar to a bigger, better-known company even if you think you can get a trademark. McDonald’s, for instance, has been very effective in keeping others from using the “Mc” as a prefix for many different kinds of products and companies. A juice bar company was able to keep other juice bars from using names starting with the letter “J” just by taking them to court. Often, it’s the company with the biggest bank account and most lawyers, rather than the ones with the law on their side, that controls a name or trademark.

If you are going to spend a great deal of money investing in a name and trademark, you might consider using a professional trademark search firm or hiring a trademark attorney to conduct a more complete search.