International Trademark Search websites for Europe, U.S, Australia, ARIPO, China and South Africa. To avoid infringing on someone else’s trademark registration, you need to search for similar trademarks that have already been registered, but there is no single website or database to do an international trademark search.
A Trademark search will provide an indication of whether there are existing trademarks which are identical or similar to yours. Foreign trademark searches may also be conducted – please contact us, should you wish to have a search conducted through the trademark offices of foreign countries. A search has to be conducted to make sure there is no similar or identical trademark on the register preventing the registration of your trademark.
Here are the relevant websites for International Trade Mark Searches:
Europe
EU trademarks are registered at the European Union Intellectual Property Office and a single registration covers all 28 member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Link: https://euipo.europa.eu/eSearch/
United States of America
Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) allows you to search the USPTO’s database of registered trademarks and prior pending applications to find marks that may prevent registration. Before you apply for a U.S trademark, you should search the USPTO’s trademark database to see if similar marks have already been registered, thus preventing your trademark from being registered.
Link: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/
Australia
The Australian Trade Mark On-line Search System (ATMOSS) office provides an electronic database of registered trademarks in Australia. Separate searches need to be performed to find trademarks in the New Zealand database. The examination process is where they check your application to make sure it contains all the correct information and meets legislative requirements.
Link: www.pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au
ARIPO
The ARIPO online services provides a database of all registered trademarks from all ARIPO member states which include: Botswana, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Link: www.eservice.aripo.org
China
The China Patent & Trademark Office website provides a database of all registered trademarks in the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong currently has a separate legal system and local registrations are necessary.
Link: www.chinatrademarkoffice.com
South Africa
The CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) office provides a search website database of registered trademarks in South Africa. You may conduct a cursory search of the Trade Marks Register to determine if the mark you may wish to use is available to you.
Link: www.cipc.co.za