Is the term 'dancesport' trademarked or trademarked internationally? I checked the USPTO and didn't find it.

Question

There is the International DanceSport Federation but I see the term all over the place. It is like the modern word for ballroom dance. Thanks

Answer 1

Here are some links where you can do some preliminary checking. However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there.

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=te...  -- USPTO – Preliminary Search of Federal trademarks

http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/research/a... --Go to your state's Secretary of State page to see if they have a searchable database of business names

http://www.hoovers.com/free/

http://www.thomasnet.com – Must register (free) to search their database

Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so I'd try them out first.

Comprehensive research consists of looking at marks that are similar in Sound, Appearance or Meaning in the pending & registered Federal AND State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files.

There are other sites that offer free searching capabilities in conjunction with their commercial services, so I'm not able to post those links due to the Yahoo! TOS. You'll also want to check domain names & yellow pages, so simply do a search for "free domain name search" and "national yellowpages" and the appropriate links will pop up.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!