Trademarks
For additional assistance, contact Maliaca Oxnam
Trademark Search
In performing a trademark search, you need to look for:
- Identical marks across all trademark classes, as well as confusingly similar trademarks.
- Likelihood of confusion with other registered trademark. Be sure to check all variant spellings to ensure that your trademark is not confusingly similar with another registered trademark.
Federally Registered Trademark Search
US Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) from the US Patent and Trademark Office
TESS can be searched for trademarks that consist of words, letters, or phrases. It contains more than 2.9 million pending, registered and dead federal trademarks. TESS is updated once every two months.
A search in TESS should be followed by a search in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office which will cover up-to-date information that will not have been added to the electronic search system.
Design Search Code Manual from the US Patent and Trademark Office
This manual allows you to search for trademark designs by identifying marks within the design. The introduction contains instructions for using this manual to identify designs.
Index of trademarks issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office
C 21.5/3: SCI REF
Trademark Register of the United States Science Library T223.V4 A26
State Registered Trademark Search
In Arizona, trademarks and trade names are registered with the Arizona Secretary of State. You can search for registered names in Arizona on the Registered Name Information Search. Additionally, the office will check up to 5 names or words per phone call. For more information see, contact:
Office of the Secretary of State
1700 West Washington, 7th Floor
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
(602) 542-6187 or 1-800-458-5842 (state of Arizona only)
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8am – 5pm, except holidays
For state trademarks outside of Arizona, check with the appropriate agency for that state. Registration responsibilities vary by state, check with the Secretary of State or department for commerce or corporation.
Non-registered (or Common Law) Trademark Search
Searching for unregistered trademark is the most difficult of the three searches. You will need to search business listings for your area to find unregistered trademarks that may be identical or confusingly similar to your mark. Some suggested resources are:
Telephone directories
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers,
Dun's Regional Business Directory. Phoenix/Tucson HG4058.P545 D86 Main Ref
World Wide Web