Vent: Picked a trademark search tool and it cost me double what I budgeted

I had to choose between a free USPTO search and a paid service like Corsearch when I was filing for my brand name last month. I went with the paid one because it claimed to catch conflicts the free search would miss, and they found a similar name I almost missed. Did you go with the free option or pay up, and did it actually make a difference for you?

2 comments

2 Comments

wyattramirez39m ago

yeah I'm not really sure it's that serious either. I mean yeah nobody wants to get sued, but how many small businesses actually get hit with trademark lawsuits? feels like the fear is way bigger than the actual risk. @iris_barnes87 makes a good point most of those "conflicts" are just noise that a google search can clear up. paid tools are just cashing in on people who watched too many shark tank episodes and think they're gonna get sued for a million bucks over a restaurant name. and honestly by the time you're big enough for it to actually matter you can afford to rebrand anyway.

iris_barnes8711h ago

Corsearch flagged a conflict for me too but it was a false alarm. A name that was totally different industry wise and spelled differently. I paid $300 only to find out a simple google search and a state business registry check would have revealed the same thing for free. Honestly the USPTO search is clunky but once you learn to use the basic word and phonetic filters it catches most things. Paid tools are just preying on people who are nervous about getting sued. I bet if you look back at that similar name it wouldnt have been an issue legally anyway. Is the tool worth the extra cost or do you think you just paid for peace of mind?