Advice for choosing a product name

When introducing a new product, it’s natural to feel excited about the name you’ve come up with. However, it can be disheartening to learn that your great name is already registered with the USPTO or a domain name registrar, even if nothing notable came up in a general internet search. This can be especially frustrating if you’ve already spent money developing a logo or product packaging.

It’s important to note that many enterprising individuals may not think to do a USPTO or domain name search, even though they are very smart business people. Just out of experience (and the need for efficiency) I always recommend searching the USPTO and doing a domain name search as the very first steps when searching for a product marketing name or company name. This will help you avoid any potential legal issues and ensure that you can move forward with your product with confidence.

The best place to search US Trademarks is the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at uspto.gov. The USPTO has as search system called TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) which you can use to conduct a free online search of the USPTO database.

Search Trademarks on USPTO.gov

When it comes to registering your trademark with the USPTO, you have two options: you can either register directly with the USPTO and be the official contact for your trademark, or you can hire a lawyer to do it on your behalf. While hiring a lawyer may seem like a good idea, it can be a lot more expensive and your lawyer will be the official contact on file for all your trademark business. This means that you will have to go through your lawyer to conduct any business with the USPTO, including trademark maintenance fees and renewals.

The same is true for any third-party trademark service. They will set themselves up as the middle man, and everything will have to go through their official contact on file. Lawyers are known for their hefty fees, and trademark services make a profit on this too.

If you choose to register your trademark directly with the USPTO, you will be the official contact on file and will also be responsible for responding to any communications, renewals, and maintenance fees. The USPTO has a online system where you can pay for it directly as well as sign for, and take possession of, your trademark*. This may be the preferred option of you are a small business with a carefully managed budget, or like to maintain closer control over your business assets.

It’s important to note that if you decide to hire a lawyer or a third-party trademark service, you will have to go through a special paperwork process (and there is a fee for that too) to declare a new official contact on file. *That’s why I always recommend an arrangement where you are the official contact on file. If you are having your application processed through a 3rd party you may wish to ask them about using the USPTO's signature option "Email Text Form to second party for electronic signature" as the last step of their online application system.

That being said, the trademark process is really fairly simple and, after approval, the USPTO will likely only ever contact you for your yearly trademark renewal fee, which is also a simple online payment.

There are many domain name registrars and they will all have tools to look up domain names. A reputable hosting company and domain registrar I often recommend is IONOS .

Some other word tools:

thesaurus.com is a good tool for looking up similar words (synonyms) in your product name brainstorming process (Their companion site for looking up word meanings is dictionary.com). You might also want to us a rhyming dictionary such as rhymezone.com or rhymer.com among the many online rhyming dictionaries .

Now that you are done finding that perfect product name you are ready for some supporting product development and marketing:

Good luck and Happy Sales!