Founding a company / Question 1
Is my company name free as a trademark?
Intelligence, not legal advice. Screening is a starting point, not a clearance opinion.
The commercial register will not tell you. Trademarks are held in separate registers, and when the IPI registers a mark it does not check whether it collides with older marks, company names or domain names. That search is yours to do, before the name is on the door.
01 / Two registers
A company name and a trademark are different rights.
The commercial register. Entering your business name in the commercial register does not automatically protect it as a trademark. Trademark protection comes only from an entry in the trademark register kept by the IPI. (IPI, Starting a company)
The trademark register. A trademark right is established on entry in the register, and it belongs to whoever files the mark first. (MSchG Arts. 5 and 6)
Check a brand name ↑02 / What the IPI checks
Registration is not a clearance.
The IPI registers a mark if it is distinctive, not deceptive and not contrary to public policy. It does not examine whether the mark infringes older trademarks, company names or domain names, and asks applicants to search themselves or have someone do it. (IPI, Risk of conflict)
An earlier mark can only be raised by its own holder, by opposition or in court. (MSchG Art. 3(3), Art. 31)
Check a brand name ↑03 / Where to look
Identical is not the only risk.
The IPI lists free places to start: Swissreg for Swiss marks and international registrations with effect in Switzerland, WIPO’s Madrid Monitor, TMview for the EU and many other offices, Zefix for Swiss company names and SWITCH for domain names. (IPI, Carrying out a search yourself)
A conflict does not need an identical name. A similar mark for the same or similar goods or services is enough where it creates a likelihood of confusion. (MSchG Art. 3(1)) A thorough search for similar marks is almost impossible on free websites, the IPI notes, and it recommends a professional search. (IPI)
Check a brand name ↑04 / In Antevo
Screen the name before you register it.
The free check screens a name across 50+ trademark registers and lists the marks near it, with office, status and the holder where it is a company; a private individual appears as “individual applicant”. It is a first screen, not a clearance opinion: for the final word, a trademark attorney runs a full search. No account needed; the answer appears on this page.
Check a brand name ↑Sources
Where this comes from.
The counts behind the figures and the primary sources for every legal point. Intelligence, not advice: nothing here is legal advice, and a trademark attorney confirms whether a name is free and how to protect it.