Guides
Trademark guides
Plain answers on checking, registering and marking a name in the US, the EU and Israel.
- Is my business name trademarked?How to find out whether a business name is already a registered trademark in the US, EU or Israel, what the three verdicts mean, and what a register search cannot tell you.
- How to trademark a nameThe steps to register a name as a trademark in the US, the EU and Israel: search the registers, pick the classes, file, answer the office, and keep the mark alive.
- Trademark or domain: which do you need first?A domain is an address; a trademark is a right. Why a free domain does not mean a free name, and why checking the register first saves a rebrand.
- Trademark vs copyrightA trademark protects a name or logo that tells customers who sells something; copyright protects a creative work. What each covers, how you get it, and how long it lasts.
- Trademark symbols: ™, ® and ℠Copy ™, ® and ℠ in one click, type them on Mac and Windows, and know when ® is allowed.
- Nice classes for a business built with AIThe handful of Nice classes most software, app, agent and service businesses actually need, and what each covers.
- Check a trademark in IsraelHow the Israeli trademark register is published, what its statuses mean, and how Open Trademarks reads it.
- What a similar live mark meansWhen Open Trademarks reports similar live marks: what the spelling, sound and office-variant signals are, and what to do next.
- What a clean trademark search means, and does notNo live match found is a positive signal, not clearance. What the search covered, what it could not, and the next step.
Check a name