System to inform about trademarks similar to provided input

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present invention generally relate to trademark searching and notification systems. More specifically, various embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for informing requesters about trademarks similar to a provided input. Some embodiments of the present invention provide for a proactive system in which users are notified of similar trademarks before using specific term(s) and users proceed after understanding which trademarks actually exist and what areas those trademarks actually entail, and possibly being notified of newly applied trademarks and modified trademarks at later times that are similar to the specific term(s) being used.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, from a requester, a request to perform a trademark search for a provided input;   searching a database for trademarks related to the provided input;   determining a relevance score for each trademark returned from the database search; and   generating a notification based at least in part on the relevance score.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising parsing the provided input into phrases for searching the database. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising identifying potential classes for the provided input based on a natural language analysis, a phonetic analysis, and a contextual analysis. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein determining the relevance score includes a comparison of the potential classes with classes assigned to the trademarks. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the relevance score for each trademark includes determining if each trademark is live or pending, involvement of the trademark owner, and litigation history. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the requester is a service provider that automatically generates the request upon a request to register the provided input. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the provided input is a domain name, an e-mail address, instant messaging user name, or an advertisement. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising updating the search on a periodic schedule. 
     
     
         9 . A system comprising:
 a communications module to receive a request to perform a trademark search for a provided input;   a parsing module configured to parse the provided input into phrases for searching;   a searching module to receive the phrases from the parsing module and search a database for trademarks related to the phrases; and   a notification module configured to receive the trademarks related to the phrases and generate a notification.   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a graphical user interface module configured to generate one or more user interface screens configured to display the notification to a recipient and receive a verification from the user that the user has reviewed the notification. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the searching module searches the databases for exact matches, phonetic matches, and natural language matches. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a verification module to create and store a unique identifier for each search. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the unique identifier includes a timestamp, a search identification, a user identification, or a search type. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 9 , further comprising a submission module to receive submissions from trademark owners with information regarding one or more trademarks. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the notification module determines a relevance of the trademarks related to the phrases before generating the notification, wherein the relevance of the trademark is based on a status, a filing date, a first use date, a registration date, keyword matches between the description of the trademark and the context of use of the keyword within the provided input, a trademark jurisdiction, or an involvement of the trademark owner. 
     
     
         16 . A method comprising:
 receiving a request to register an identification string with a service provider;   requesting a trademark analysis of the identification string to identify one or more trademarks related to the identification string; and   determining, based on the one or more trademarks returned from the trademark analysis, whether to permit registration of the identification string.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising notifying a recipient of the one or more trademarks related to the identification string, 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the recipient includes an owner of at least one of the one or more trademarks. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the recipient includes a user who sent the request to register the identification string and the method further comprising:
 sending a verifiable notification to the user;   receiving confirmation of that the user has reviewed the verifiable notification; and   determining, based on the one or more trademarks returned from the trademark analysis and the confirmation, whether to permit registration of the identification string.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the verifiable notification includes an indemnity agreement. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the notification includes a degree of relevance, status, classes, serial number, image, description, jurisdiction, ownership data, or litigation history for each of the one or more trademarks.