Cost effective trademark clearance solutions Steve Stolfi Vice President

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Cost effective trademark clearance
solutionsSteve StolfiVice President

• October 9, 2008

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Overview

• Initial search considerations and technology
• Worldwide Web and domain name searching
• Free PTO Database Searches in US, Japan, and some
  of the top 5EU countries
• Fee-based trademark database searches
• U.S Full (Comprehensive) Search
• Investigative Results
• Questions and Answers

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Initial Search Considerations

• Does your client have a budget?
• Are they cost conscious?
• Are they risk averse or risk tolerant?

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How to Pick Your Level of Searching

• What does your client want to do with their
  trademark?
• Register it?
• Use it?
• Which area of commerce?
• Protect it against others?
• What countries?

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Types of Marks

• Coined Marks
• Arbitrary Marks 
• Suggestive Marks
• Descriptive Marks
• Generic Terms 

Strong
Weak
Coined Arbitrary Suggestive Descriptive
Generic
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Major Search Engines

• Major Search Engines
• Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, AOL are most
  commercially used search engines
• Each operates off individual distinct algorithms
• Each operates a keyword ads program to provide
  sponsored links (and ads)
• Present the best look into what the general
  public will see
• Significant overlap (especially for commercial
  sites) but some level of individual indexing for
  each engine
• Differing levels of advanced search capabilities
  can be customized to search for specific
  descriptors, languages, etc.
• In url and inanchor searching for more customized
  searching
• - Little if any truncation or character
  replacement searching
• - Google allows for some level of advanced
  search queries

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Major Search Engines

• Specialized engines for searching
• Designs
• Blogs
• E-Commerce
• Catalogs (Google)
• Metasearches
• Metasearches allow you to search multiple search
  engines at once
• Some application for finding the needle in the
  haystack
• Do not always retrieve all the same hits you
  would retrieve by searching the engines
  individually
• Archive.org aka Wayback
• Invaluable for viewing the commercial history of
  a mark

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Search Engine Challenges

• Sheer volume of data
• Searchability
• Dynamic nature of the web information changes
  rapidly
• What is infringement and what is fair use?
• Relevant information may be buried getting the
  best hits to come up first

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Domain Searching

• An Invaluable tool for identifying potential
  infringement, proactively defending and
  registering needed sites, and a potential form of
  common law research.
• gTLD (global) and ccTLD (country level) searches
  available from search providers offline and
  online
• Be wary of searching for domains on registrar
  sites
• Limited searchability
• Potential threat of domain front loading
• WHOIS lookups can identify the owners of domains
  of concern
• TYPO generation tools allow you to identify and
  search for likely cyber-squatting targets

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Search Examples

• FUZZY LOGIC - Clothing
• SXINTETIX - Skin creams, nutraceuticals
• OENOPOL - Liquor stores, general convenience
  stores

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Free PTO Examples
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Many choices in global online trademark search
providers

• Avantiq
• Questel Edital
• SAEGIS
• Marquesa
• Advantage Screening
• Dialog
• LexisNexis
• Many more..

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Pricing and Advantages

• Flat fee vs. transactional and/or pay as you go?
• Allow users to search multiple country trademark
  databases simultaneously
• Enhanced data with more complete status,
  ownership and translations of goods services
• Most systems are intuitive and have built in
  phonetics

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Trademark Search Technology

• Search functionality
• Ability to search prefix, suffix, infix,
  wildcards, letter replacements, as well as
  designs
• Automated search query technology
• Be cautious with comprehensiveness on coined
  marks
• Many are class driven
• Phonetic generation
• Phonetic variation and cross-referencing
• Automated letter string replacements
• Manual editing of references for plays on words
• Spelling variation dictionaries and language
  considerations

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Other considerations

• Phonetic engines, intelligent searching, query
  flexibility
• Query processing
• Are phonetic equivalents cross-referenced?
• What level of data indexing is done (corrections,
  editing, pseudo-marking?)
• Class considerations
• What query options do you have? (truncation,
  wildcards etc)

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FENOPER

PHANOPER
PHENOPOR
FENNAPAR
FONAPIR
FEANIPRE
Phonetic Identical
PENOPER
FENAREP
ENOPER
HALOPER
PHENOLIA
FENALIN
Prefix
Suffix
PEREFON
NEFOREP
PLENOPARIA
REPENOF
JENOPEN
Infix
Letter Rotations
FP.B,E EB,F,P NM,V OQ,C,G PF,B,E EB,F,P RB
,P,F
FARLAPER
FERESPER
CvCvCvC
FILOMER
Rocking the Letters
Character Considerations
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Fee based online trademark screening search
examples
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U.S. Comprehensive Trademark Searches

• Full (Comprehensive) Search Results
• Federal and State Trademark registers
• Common Law databases (Pharma specialized)
• USP Dictionary, Pharma In-Use, WHO, PDR etc
• Business Names
• Domain Names, and web searching
• Risky to register without doing an in-depth
  common law search!
• Access to additional information on marks cited
  within the report (Use information)
• Evidence of use and channels of cited marks
• Information on applicant/registrant of mark

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Cost effective trademark solutions and new search
techniques and tools in clearing trademarks
Steve StolfiVice President

• October 7, 2008

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Conclusions/Recommendations

• Many free resources available
• Work with client and search company in devising
  search strategy
• Fee based online search providers will save you
  time and money
• Multi-jurisdictional searches with opinion can be
  costly, but are sometimes necessary
• Local expertise is critical considering different
  languages and laws
• Goal is to minimize risk, but remember all
  searches are subjective because searching is an
  art not an exact science

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Thank You!

• Steve Stolfi
• Vice President
• Sales Global Partnerships
• steve.stolfi_at_wolterskluwer.com
• 1-800-search1
• 917 408 5020
• Website www.ctcorsearch.com
• CT Corsearch, a Wolters Kluwer Company
• Questions?