With the growing number of trademarks and trademark registers world-wide, not to mention trademark registration systems like the CTM system, searching for trademark availability has become more and more a necessity.

What makes i-Search so special?

-          It has an i for convenience.

-          It has an i for speed.

-          It has an i for quality.

-          Legal opinions are provided for by local lawyers.

-          The prices are highly competitive.

-          i-Search is attractive for IP professionals, whether in law firms, branding agencies or the industry.

i-Search: Search with legal opinion of local lawyers

This new line of products from s.m.d.-Benelux offers trademark search with legal opinion for one or several countries –

so-called packages. The legal opinion is provided by local lawyers, experts in the trademark legislation in their respective country. Theprimary focus of i-Search is Europe, but owing to our international network, we cover almost every country of the world.

For each country, i-Search legal opinion consists of:

-          The inherent registrability: Is the proposed trademark sufficiently distinctive to qualify for registration?

-          Linguistic remarks: Has the proposed trademark a meaning in the local language(s)? Are there any bad or unwanted connotations?

-          The availability for use and registration: Are there any prior (trademark) rights which could constitute bars to the use and registration of the proposed trademark? Details of the relevant marks are being given.

-          A conclusion: A summary of the above mentioned issues together with an advice whether or not to proceed with the proposed trademark.

i-Search packages are available with two options:

1.        i-Search Plus
provides for each country a full trademark search report with legal opinion. In addition, it includes a summary with an overall advice and the list of the potential bars. The Plus option is especially suited for corporations with in-house legal or trademark departments.

2.        i-Search Saver
provides for each country but your home country a full trademark search report with legal opinion. For your home country, only the full trademark search report is included. The Saver option is especially suited for lawyers within professional IP firms who prefer to provide the opinion for their own country and an overall advice themselves. The search report will be printed on neutral paper, so that comments can be added and the report easily customized to fit your clients’ needs.

The following packages are available:

-          Former European Union (13 jurisdictions):
Austria, Benelux, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

-          European Union (as of May 1^st, 2004) (23 jurisdictions):
Austria, Benelux, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

-          Western Europe (18 jurisdictions):
Austria, Benelux, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

-          Eastern Europe (20 jurisdictions):
Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine).

-          Europe (40 jurisdictions):
Western and Eastern Europe

-          Customized packages:
For other country combinations, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Package discount applies to any combinationof more than 3 countries.
Single country:
i-Search also offers search with legal opinion in a single country. If relevant, Community and/or international trademarks are always included.

Do not hesitate to request a copy of our sample report. This is a genuine search after an invented trademark covering Benelux, France, Germany, and United Kingdom. It gives a good impression of the contents, quality, and the lay-out of the report. If you have any specific questions, you can always call us or arrange an appointment with one of our professionals.

i-Search: WITH AN EYE TO TRADEMARK AVAILABILITY

Contact: Ernst Joerg Utescher

SMD Benelux BV

Stationsplein 325

3818 LE Amersfoort

The Netherlands

www.i-search.biz, Tel.: +31 (0) 33 465 61 87

info@smd-benelux.com, Fax: +31 (0) 33 465 96 24

If you have a need for searches without legal opinion, please ask for our international price list. Searches are done with the highest degree of quality and experience by us or our sister company s.m.d.- markeur in Germany. If you have any questions, please contact the international department under 0049 4102 80 48 0.

General notes:

Turnaround times

Standard: 10 working days

Urgent: 6 working days

1)       For device mark searches in the EU countries, the legal opinion is written by a European Trademark Attorney.

2)       Turnaround time for word and device mark searches in Central and South America (esp. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, and Paraguay) may take longer than 6 resp.10 days.

3)       Turnaround time for searches in Africa and Middle East is 10 to 30 days.

# Upon request – Not available