Conflicts & Likelikhood of Confusion

If there is a conflicting trademark (either existing, or pending application) or likelihood of confusion with your mark, your trademark application could be refused by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). A conflict can be defined as simply as trademarks that are similar to your own (not necessarily identical) and goods and/or services that are related. Note that trademarks that are no longer alive will not conflict with yours. If an old trademark is “dead” or “abandoned,” it is no longer in effect and cannot be used to incite a conflict or likelihood of confusion. Determining factors in a likelihood of confusion are based upon:

• Similarity of other marks and your mark
• Classes of goods/services listed in the application of the mark in relation to classes listed in other mark applications

If there is an existing trademark similar to your mark that you would like to register, but for a different class or different set of goods/services, it might not be considered a conflict or likeliness of confusion. (What Are Trademark Classes?)

Searching for conflicts:
If there is a conflict or likelihood of confusion found by the USPTO examining attorney, your application may be refused and your money non refundable. Thus as a preventative measure, Thoughts to Paper will provide a free preliminary basic search through the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Search System for you wherein our Trademark Attorney will attempt to find any existing conflicting trademarks or possible likelihoods of confusion in the U.S. This search is meant to be a basic precautionary search to help improve your trademark application but does not guarantee your trademark's approval.