Frequently Asked Questions

Registering a brand name takes time and money. A preliminary search helps you identify existing trademarks with similar names early on — before investing in the registration process. This way, potential overlaps can be identified early. For a legally sound assessment, a specialized attorney should always be consulted.

The EUIPO register (eSearch plus) primarily returns exact matches. Markencheck.ai goes further: In addition to name similarity (sounds alike, looks alike), our AI also analyzes overlap in Nice classes and compares the goods and services descriptions. This way, you not only see similar names but also whether they are registered in a similar business area — something that makes manual research extremely time-consuming. The results are purely technical similarity matches, not a legal assessment.

The public quick search is free. For advanced features like AI scoring, class matching, and watchlists, a one-time access is available — no subscription required.

Our system automatically compares your search term against registered trademarks using several technical criteria: phonetic similarity (does the name sound similar?), visual similarity (does the name look similar?), and overlap in goods/services classes. The results show technical similarity — whether this constitutes a legal conflict can only be assessed by an attorney.

The comparison score shows, as a percentage, how closely a found trademark matches your search term — the higher the value, the more matches our system detected. It evaluates name sound, visual appearance, character structure, and (in the extended check) industry overlap. The score is a technical comparison value, not a legal assessment.

Each result shows a comparison score as a percentage — the higher the value, the more similar the found trademark is to your search term. You'll also see small hint labels explaining why a match is relevant: e.g. 'Sounds similar', 'Looks similar', 'One letter difference', or 'Class overlap'. Below that, the trademark's registered Nice classes are displayed.

Currently the EU trademark register (EUIPO). Additional registers are planned.

Two identical brand names can coexist as long as they operate in completely different industries — e.g. "Atlas" for a moving company and "Atlas" for software products. What matters is not just the name, but also whether the goods and services overlap. That's why Markencheck.ai compares not only names but also Nice classes and the specific descriptions of registered goods and services. The greater the overlap in content, the more relevant the match is for your preliminary research. The legal assessment remains the domain of an attorney.

You enter your desired name, the relevant Nice classes, and a description of your goods and services — if you're unsure, our AI helps you find the right details. Markencheck.ai then automatically searches the trademark register and shows you a list of similar trademarks within seconds, sorted by comparison score — i.e. how strongly our AI rates a word mark as overlapping with yours. The AI guides you step by step through the entire process — however, the results do not replace legal advice.

Yes — on the paid plan you can export a PDF of your search results, e.g. for your records or to share with an attorney.

Yes, but only in a supporting role — for example, to summarize research results in plain language or to assist with input. The actual similarity analysis is entirely based on proprietary algorithms and a machine learning model trained on real EUIPO opposition decisions. Generative AI (e.g. ChatGPT) is prone to hallucinations and does not produce reproducible results — that's why we deliberately don't use it for scoring. Your comparison score is calculated deterministically: the same input always produces the same result.

No — Markencheck.ai is a technical research tool for the early orientation phase. The platform shows technical similarities between brand names but does not provide legal assessments or legal advice. Whether there is actually a likelihood of confusion and what the best course of action is can only be determined by a specialized trademark attorney. We explicitly recommend seeking legal counsel before filing a trademark application.

The Nice Classification is an international system that divides goods and services into 45 classes. Trademarks are always registered for specific classes. Markencheck.ai shows which classes a found trademark is registered in — so you can see whether there is an overlap with your planned field of activity.

Currently, Markencheck.ai focuses on word marks — i.e. pure name entries. Figurative and combined word/figurative marks are not analyzed yet, but are planned for the future.