You are going to trademark your brand. Excellent move for sure! But oftentimes, we have noticed many small yet significant measures end up falling between the cracks in a rush and excitement to accomplish the big ones. And one of them is conducting a “trademark search” before registration of the trademark. Trademark search is an elementary and one of the most important steps of the trademark registration process an entity must take. Because from thinking of a unique name, logo and/or tag line to developing effective marketing strategies, establishing a new product or service requires a great deal of effort combined with time and money, and you would not want them to go down the drain. Ahead, we will see why performing a trademark search before using and registering a trademark in the UAE is more important than you think.
Understand Trademark Search?
Overconfidence blurs out the risk. You might think that your idea is unique and no one else in the world can come up with the same, but you might be wrong. There is no harm in being sure. A trademark search helps you in ensuring that you were right. And even if you’re not, you are safe because you have not infringed any existing third-party trademarks. Now you understand what trademark search is!
Trademark search is nothing but a process of determining the trademark the brand owner has applied for is not already taken by monitoring trademark publications and online databases. Businesses should be able to see and take preliminary measures to take post-trademark registration problems by the throat. Forgoing a trademark search can lead to loss of time, money, effort, and reputation if the other party raises opposition. For big companies that invest a fortune in promoting their brands, trademark registration is the first and foremost step in a broader spectrum of brand publicity strategies. And they don’t overlook “trademark search” as well. But trademark registration with a proper trademark search is equally imperative for small companies as well, to avoid adopting trademarks (innocently or intentionally) that encroach the third-party trademark rights.
Reasons to Perform a Trademark Search in the UAE
Below are some reasons why one should conduct a trademark search in the UAE before registering it. The act of trademark search:
- Sidesteps your chances of unknowingly infringing on another mark
- Keeps you from wasting money, resources and time unnecessarily
- Reduces the possibility of trademark registration application rejection, which means the chances of successful registration in one shot are greater if trademark search is done (professionally)
Methods of Conducting Trademark Search in the UAE
Until the launch of an online portal for trademark search in 2018, trademark agents in the UAE used to conduct trademark search by physically visiting thetrademark office and searching through the official trademark publications. Now they are able to search the trademark register online from the comfort of their office. The new method has made things easy for both the IP agents as well as the applicants while saving time, money and legwork. Below-mentioned is the methods adopted by trademark agents in Dubai, UAE to search for the existence of prior trademarks:
Identical Trademark Search
Search conducted to figure out the existence of trademarks that are visually or phonetically indistinguishable to the potential trademark is termed as Identical Trademark Search. An identical trademark is any mark that is a reproduction of an already registered trademark (without minor modification) and does not necessarily have to be an exact copy of another mark.
Similar Trademark Search
Under this type of trademark search, the businesses have to ensure that their potential trademarks are not confusingly similar to existing trademarks. A mark is deemed to be similar if it is so closely resembling that other mark (or prior trademark application) as to be likely to deceive or cause confusion.
Trademark Search with Opinion
This trademark search method is adopted by entities that don’t mind going by the recommendation of a trademark attorney on similar prior trademarks.
Index Search
Index search helps the brand owners identify the companies with similar names to the search terms.
In-use Verification Search
This search method allows brand owners to determine if a third party is decently using their trademark rights, and such a search provides grounds to challenge the registration.
Trade Name Search
Examines trade name rights that may conflict with your desired trademark, by identifying companies with identical/similar names to the search terms.
Significance of Hiring Trademark Agents for Trademark Search in the UAE
Before registration, business owners can either conduct the trademark search in-house or hire one of the best intellectual property service providers for trademark search and registration purposes. Most brand owners prefer the second option, usually as conducting trademark searches internally can be doubtful or inaccurate. On the other hand, small companies that don’t aim for a broad reach for their products often opt for the first option. However, it is advisable to approach one of the best trademark agents in Dubai, UAE for trademark searches. Relying on one of the experienced trademark advisors in the UAE to shoulder the responsibility of a trademark search lowers the myriad risks involved in the process. The trademark agents with years of experience in the field can be found at a full-fledged business setup company in the UAE. A business setup firm like Adam Global Dubai is often a one-stop-shop for all the services related to businesses. Business advisory companies in Dubai, UAE houses a team of experts and professionals including intellectual property lawyers who are worth their salt in dealing with all aspects of businesses in the UAE from registering a trade name, obtaining visa & long-term residency, assisting in day-to-day business activities to conducting a trademark search and applying for a trademark in any emirate of the UAE. At Adam Global Dubai you are covered not only for business setup services but also for all the other intellectual property rights services including trademark search, trademark registration and recordal of a trademark with customs authorities to prevent infringement. Our specialised IP attorney will prepare a comprehensive report containing identical or similar trademarks, which might be a hindrance to your application and the probability of an easy-breezy registration, which will be helpful in providing you with recommendations.
Pass the buck to Adam Global Dubai IP Professionals
If you choose to take professional help in trademark registration from Adam Global Dubai, you’ll not only receive a powerful and careful trademark search, but also the knowledge that you’re following best practices in all aspects of your application. The Adam Global trademark experts are hands-on with conducting trademark searches in multiple jurisdictions. We search the national IP database for the UAE businesses and the database of international organsations like WIPO for performing the search in multiple jurisdictions. All in all, our dedicated trademark specialist will conduct a comprehensive trademark search for you to bring to light detailed information on contradicting trademarks existing in multiple jurisdictions. Contact us to benefit from the first free consultancy offered by us.