Guide
Why Trademark and Name Checks Matter?
A new brand is often adopted, used and even registered before anyone has confirmed that it is actually available. The assumption is that a registration settles the matter. It does not. A trademark can be validly registered and still infringe the earlier rights of a third party - which means the brand you believed you owned may, in fact, not be yours to use.
In brief
- Registering a trademark does not, on its own, confirm that you are entitled to use it: in Switzerland the IPI examines only absolute grounds, not earlier rights.
- A proper check therefore covers more than the trademark register - it also includes existing identical and confusingly similar company names and signs already in use, whether registered or not.
- The aim is to confirm two things before you commit: that the brand is free, and that it can genuinely become yours.
- Skipping this step risks opposition, cancellation, an injunction, and a forced and costly rebrand after the brand is already established.
- A clearance check before filing is, in almost all cases, far cheaper than resolving a conflict afterwards.
Registration is not the same as the right to use
In Switzerland, the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) examines an application only on absolute grounds — for example whether the sign is descriptive or misleading. It does not check whether an identical or similar earlier mark already exists. That responsibility lies entirely with the applicant. A registration therefore confirms that your mark was entered in the register; it does not confirm that you are free to use it, nor that it is safe from challenge.
The trademark search
The first step is a search of the trademark register for identical and similar signs, in the relevant goods and services classes and in the relevant territories. Earlier registered or pending marks can be used to oppose your application within the opposition period, or later to seek its cancellation. Identifying them before filing allows the conflict to be assessed — and avoided — while changing course is still inexpensive.
A check must extend beyond identical matches on public databases to similar signs. Trademark and company-name rights protect their holders against confusingly similar names as well, so a search limited to identical entries will miss the majority of genuine conflicts. Checkname.ch screens Swiss public registers and web for both identical and similar signs.
Beyond the trademark register
A brand can be blocked by rights that never appear in the trademark register. A complete check therefore also examines:
- Registered company names in the commercial register, which enjoy protection under company-name law and can prevent the use of a confusingly similar sign;
- Signs already in use that are unregistered but nonetheless protected, for instance through prior use, name rights, or the Unfair Competition Act (UWG); and
- Domains and online accounts corresponding to the intended brand.
The point is simple: ownership of a brand depends not only on what is registered as a trademark, but on the whole field of existing names and signs that a new brand might collide with.
What is at stake
A brand adopted without a proper check carries a continuing risk. The holder of an earlier right may file an opposition, seek cancellation of your registration, or obtain an injunction against further use. By the time such a conflict surfaces, the brand is usually already established — with marketing, packaging, signage and goodwill built around it. A forced rebrand at that stage is considerably more expensive than the search that would have prevented it, and the investment already made in the name is largely lost.
Conclusion
A trademark registration is only as sound as the clearance behind it. Checking the trademark register, the commercial register and signs already in use, before filing, confirms both that the brand is free and that it can properly belong to you. For any brand intended to carry commercial weight, that check is a modest and worthwhile step taken at the outset — and almost always cheaper than the alternative.
Checkname.ch helps you better understand the results and impact.