Search the official USPTO database before naming your business, product, or brand. Free, instant, no account needed.
The USPTO's Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) is the official free tool for searching registered and pending trademarks. Search for your exact name, then try phonetic variations and similar words. A "dead" mark (abandoned or cancelled) may still be searchable but doesn't block you. An "live" mark in your same class likely does.
Don't start selling a product without searching first — trademark infringement liability starts at first use. Don't assume a cleared domain name means a clear trademark. Don't skip state trademark registrations if you operate locally. Don't use ® before your mark is federally registered — use ™ until then.
Once the name is legally safer, the next challenge is explaining the product consistently across channels without adding more founder workload.
Brand protection is one step. Brand communication and repeatable content execution are the next step if you want the name to compound into demand.