Is this name clear to use?
A thorough search, a written opinion, and a consultation before you print labels and secure domains and social handles. Registration is required… at least not yet!
You may have visited the USPTO website and come across information that made you pause. Perhaps you checked the Secretary of State database before establishing your LLC and thought that was enough to confirm that the name was available. However, that’s not the case: filing with a state entity only reserves the entity name; it does not indicate whether someone else holds trademark rights to a similar name. You may have designed your labels, secured the domain, and set your opening date, leaving you with one crucial question: Is the name available for your use?
Choosing a brand name is both a legal and creative decision. This session will address the fundamental question in your registration process: Is this name clear for use?
If This Sounds Familiar…
The Cost of Skipping This Step
Rebranding after your launch involves multiple challenges: you’ll need new packaging, new labels, a new domain, and new social media handles. Plus, you’ll have to explain the change to every customer who recognized you by your old name. This situation often arises after receiving a demand letter or when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejects an application that the owner assumed would be a simple formality. Conducting clearance searches can help identify these potential issues while your name is still just an idea.
What I Handle
The Search: A thorough investigation that includes federal registrations and pending applications, state registrations, and common-law uses. This encompasses names in the market that have never filed official documents but could still pose challenges.
The Written Opinion: What I found, how close it comes, and my read on the risk of building on the mark. If something you found is in the results, you will know exactly what it means: whether it blocks you, coexists with you, or has nothing to do with you. Marks do not have to match to conflict. The question is whether customers are likely to confuse the two, and similar goods or services push that answer toward yes.
The Consultation: We will discuss the results, their implications for the mark, and how to address any concerns you may have.
How It Works
Start the Intake: Provide the intended mark for your goods or services, a description of what goods or services will be covered, and where you intend to sell your goods or services (e.g., online, brick-and-mortar, internationally). I will send you the engagement letter and invoice. I will begin the search once both are complete.
I Conduct the Search: I perform a comprehensive search covering federal, state, and common law before drawing any conclusions.
Receive Your Written Opinion: I complete clearance searches weekly. Engagements submitted by Wednesday will be included in that week’s search, and you will receive your written opinion the following Monday. If you submit your engagement on Thursday or later, it will be processed in the next week’s search, meaning the opinion will arrive the Monday after next. Regardless, you will receive a formal, confidential document for your records, rather than just meeting notes to remember.
Schedule Your Consultation: Once you have the written opinion, you can book a consultation at a time that works for you, typically within the same week.
Important Note: An engagement is defined as having both the signed engagement letter and the paid invoice received by 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. If Monday is a federal holiday, I will deliver the opinion on Tuesday. If you need the opinion sooner, please consider the rush option detailed under Fees.
Fees
The session fee is a flat $1,800, which includes the search, a written opinion, and a consultation. If you engage by Wednesday, you will receive the opinion the following Monday.
Rush Option: You can engage any day and receive the written opinion within three business days for an additional $600. Please select this option on the intake form.
A little perspective… In August 2026, Axios Charlotte reported on a fitness studio that discovered a conflicting federal registration just days before its opening. The owners estimated the cost of the forced rebranding at $45,000, which included expenses for merchandise, design, replacement materials, and legal fees. Another business mentioned in the same report received legal paperwork the day before its grand opening. Neither business had federal registration for its original name.
Registration: If the name is cleared and you wish to proceed with registration, the opinion will be the first part of the registration package. You need to engage us for filing within two weeks of receiving your opinion. The remaining cost for this service is $1,200, bringing the total to $3,000, which is the same amount as engaging me for registration outright.
Please note that searches have a limited timeframe; applications are submitted to the USPTO every day. Your opinion remains valid for registration for two weeks, after which only half of the session fee will be credited.
The fine print(!): Credit terms apply to a single registration engagement for the searched mark. The two-week period starts from the date I deliver your written opinion. No cash value is assigned.
What This Doesn’t Cover
The Filing: Preparing and filing the application is a separate process, and the credit mentioned above serves as a bridge to this engagement. Trademark Registration [link]
An Opinion Based on Someone Else’s Search: I conduct my own search for every opinion I provide. If you have already completed a search, please feel free to share your findings with me. However, this does not replace my search.
A Dispute Already in Progress: If you have received a cease-and-desist letter or if a dispute has already been filed against you, that falls under enforcement work, not clearance. Enforcement & Disputes [link]
Certainty: No search can capture every unregistered use of a similar name. My search includes the sources that the USPTO and a court would consider: federal registrations and applications, state registrations, and common-law uses. The report details what was searched, the search date, and any leads that could not be verified, so you can clearly understand what information you are relying on.
Start Here
Please provide the mark you are considering, even if you are still deciding between two options. If you have already set a launch date, please include that in the intake form as well. Complete the intake form, and I will follow up with the next steps.
If you are still choosing between names or looking to replace one, “Name It to Keep It,” the naming and rebranding workbook available on Selvedge [link], is the perfect resource to help you finalize your choice before bringing me your finalists. Name It to Keep It [link]
FAQs
Is this the same as the search included in the registration package?
1
Yes, it is. The opinion is the first part of the package. If you engage for the full registration, the search is included. If the name does not clear, I will provide you with a written opinion and refund any filing fee that may have been paid. If you choose to get the opinion first and the name clears, the remaining registration work will cost $1,200 and will be completed within two weeks. Regardless of whether you file or not, the total remains $3,000 if you choose the search option. Starting with the opinion is recommended if you’re unsure about filing or whether the name will be approved.
I have already searched the USPTO site. Why do I need to do more?
2
The USPTO database is just one source for checking trademarks, and it only returns exact matches based on what you type. It does not include state registrations, unregistered users, or name variations that might still cause conflicts.
I formed an LLC under this name. Doesn’t that protect my brand?
3
No, it doesn’t. When you file an LLC with the state, it only reserves the entity name within that state. It doesn’t guarantee brand protection, nor does it prevent someone with prior trademark rights from challenging your use of that name.
Nobody else has my exact name. Am I clear?
4
Not necessarily. The test is whether customers are likely to confuse the two names. Similar names for similar or related goods or services can conflict even if they do not match.
Can I send you my own search results instead?
5
Send them. They may highlight uses that a database could miss and may be addressed in the opinion. However, I still conduct a full search of my own.
How long does it take?
6
I conduct clearance searches weekly. To receive a written opinion by the following Monday, please engage by 5 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. Engagements received on Thursday or later will be included in the next week’s search, and the opinion will be delivered the Monday after next. If the following Monday is a federal holiday, I will deliver the opinion on Tuesday instead.
What if I need it sooner?
7
The rush option provides the written opinion within three business days from engagement, any day of the week, for an additional fee of $600. Please select it on the intake form.
What does “engagement” mean?
8
I’ve received your signed engagement letter and paid invoice. The clock starts when I have both.
Can you search two marks?
9
If you are choosing between two marks, the two-mark session costs $2,700. Both names must cover the same goods or services, and you receive one comparative opinion.
Do I have to register the mark?
10
No, the opinion addresses whether the mark is clear for use. Registration is a separate matter, and many individuals choose to do it later or not at all.
What if I already launched?
11
The opinion still lets you know where the mark stands. If the answer is bad, rebranding on your own schedule costs far less than rebranding after a letter arrives.
Someone already sent me a letter. Is this the session for that?
12
No, that' is enforcement work, and I handle that separately. Don’t change the name the same afternoon you get a letter. Some of those letters overreach. Let an attorney review and research the claims before you make changes that might not be necessary.
Can the opinion guarantee the name is safe?
13
No single search can identify every unregistered use of a similar name. My search includes the sources that the USPTO and a court would consider: federal registrations and applications, state registrations, and common-law uses. The opinion outlines what was searched, when it was done, and any leads that could not be verified, so you have a clear understanding of what you are relying on.
What happens if I engage for registration and the search kills the mark?
14
I will provide you with the written opinion, keeping $1,800 for the search and opinion, and refunding the $1,200 filing portion if paid in advance. You are in the same position as an opinion client, with nothing paid for a filing that will not occur.