--- title: "Trademark Clearance Search | Pitch" description: "Our clearance engine runs a name through absolute grounds, registers and online sources, scores similarity and produces an opinion that an attorney signs off." url: https://www.pitch.law/technologies/efficient-cost-effective-and-accurate-trademark-clearance-solutions --- [pitch](https://www.pitch.law/) [Technology](https://www.pitch.law/technologies) [Trademarks & brand protection](https://www.pitch.law/technology-categories/online-brand-protection) # Trademark Clearance Search Our clearance engine runs a name through absolute grounds, registers and online sources, scores similarity and produces an opinion that an attorney signs off. - By By Bart Lieben, Attorney-at-Law ## What it does The clearance engine is the technology behind our [trademark clearance](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/trademark-clearance) service. Give it a name or logo, plus the goods, services and countries you care about, and it works through a fixed set of steps: intake, absolute grounds, search, relative grounds and conclusions. An attorney checks and signs off each stage before the next one starts. The technology collects and sorts the material; the legal assessment and the recommendation come from a person. Confidential content is redacted on our own hardware before any cloud AI sees it; if that check cannot run, nothing goes out. Our platform is hosted in the EU. We also use it to screen a proposed brand top-level domain string against existing marks before an application is considered. That's where it meets our [New gTLDs for Brands](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/new-gtlds) work. ## Functions ### Depth selection You pick one of three depths: a quick check for early ideas and shortlists, a preliminary search for a preferred name, or a full clearance for a brand with serious money behind it. The steps are the same. What changes is the number of sources, the amount of review and the detail of the opinion. ### Absolute grounds check We test the sign against the absolute grounds for refusal, such as descriptiveness, lack of distinctiveness and deceptiveness. The check covers all 24 official EU languages, because a problem in just one language area can be enough to block an EU trade mark. The attorney reviews every flagged meaning. ### Register and online search We search trademarks through TMview, which brings together more than 70 IP offices, and designs through DesignView. Beyond the registers we look at domain names, the open web, social media handles, online marketplaces and company registers. You give us the sign, its variants and the classes; you get back a list of candidate conflicts and where each one comes from. ### Similarity scoring Each candidate is scored visually, phonetically and conceptually, anchored to the EUIPO's similarity tools. [How similarity is judged](https://www.pitch.law/academy/understanding-trademark-similarity) in law is the reference for the scoring. Where the score and the legal assessment differ, the attorney decides. ### Goods and services comparison We compare goods and services using the EUIPO's harmonised database (TMclass), covering all 45 [Nice classes](https://www.pitch.law/academy/the-nice-classification-explained). Cross-class checks flag marks in other classes whose goods or services are still similar to yours. ### Coexistence agreement check When we find a conflict, we check whether a coexistence agreement on record bears on it. That shows the attorney what has been accepted before and whether approaching the earlier owner is realistic. ### Brand naming screen Before candidate names enter clearance, we can screen them linguistically in 36 languages. That catches unfortunate meanings, near-homophones and sounds that don't travel. ## What you receive A structured clearance opinion. It lists each relevant conflict with a risk level, the reasoning and a recommendation: proceed, proceed with changes, proceed with monitoring, or don't proceed. You also get a comparison report that puts candidate names side by side, as a Word, Excel or PDF file. A clearance lowers risk; it doesn't remove it. The registers only show what has been filed or published at the time of the search, and the opinion says so. [What a clearance search covers](https://www.pitch.law/academy/trademark-clearance-search-explained) is explained in more detail in the Knowledge Base. ## Where it is used Mostly before a new name is launched or filed, while changing course is still cheap. A clearance with a good result flows straight into [trademark filing](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/trademark-filing). We also use it when a brand grows into new goods, services or countries, before a licence or acquisition, and for naming projects with several candidates. ### A matter from start to finish An agency brings three candidate names for a client's new beverage brand, to be sold in Germany, France and Spain. The names go through the linguistic screen first, and one is dropped. The other two get a preliminary search with the goods, services and countries as the starting point. We report absolute grounds per language, then list candidate conflicts from the registers and the web, each scored for similarity. The attorney reviews each stage, sets aside irrelevant hits and writes the legal assessment. The agency gets the opinion and a comparison report, and chooses. The cleared name carries into filing with the same classes. ## In short - Staged pipeline with attorney sign-off at each stage - Three depths, from quick check to full clearance - Absolute grounds in all 24 official EU languages - Similarity scored visually, phonetically and conceptually - Opinion and comparison report in Word, Excel or PDF ## Related solutions - [Solutions](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/trademark-clearance) ### [Trademark Clearance](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/trademark-clearance) [A structured check of whether a name or logo is free to use and register, ending in an attorney-signed opinion with risk levels and a clear recommendation.](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/trademark-clearance) - [Solutions](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/new-gtlds) ### [New gTLDs for Brands](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/new-gtlds) [Advice for brand owners on ICANN's new gTLD programme, from the decision to apply through objections and contention to running a registry.](https://www.pitch.law/solutions/new-gtlds) ## Background reading - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/trademark-clearance-search-explained) ### [What Is a Trademark Clearance Search?](https://www.pitch.law/academy/trademark-clearance-search-explained) [A clearance search checks, before you file or launch, whether earlier rights stand in the way of a new mark. This article explains what it covers, what it cannot do and how to read the result.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/trademark-clearance-search-explained) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/understanding-trademark-similarity) ### [Understanding Trademark Similarity](https://www.pitch.law/academy/understanding-trademark-similarity) [Whether two marks conflict depends on how similar they are and how close the goods are. This article explains the test and how its elements are weighed.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/understanding-trademark-similarity) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/the-nice-classification-explained) ### [The Nice Classification Explained](https://www.pitch.law/academy/the-nice-classification-explained) [The Nice Classification sorts goods and services into 45 classes. This article explains how it works, why wording matters and what it does not decide.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/the-nice-classification-explained) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/brand-tlds-in-the-2026-round-of-new-gtlds-key-takeaways-from-the-draft-applicant-guidebook) ### [Brand TLDs in the 2026 Round: the Applicant Guidebook](https://www.pitch.law/academy/brand-tlds-in-the-2026-round-of-new-gtlds-key-takeaways-from-the-draft-applicant-guidebook) [What a brand TLD is, how the Applicant Guidebook treats it, and the contract obligations that come with running one.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/brand-tlds-in-the-2026-round-of-new-gtlds-key-takeaways-from-the-draft-applicant-guidebook) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/dotbrand-domains-in-financial-services-what-a-decade-of-data-reveals-about-trust-security-and-the-road-to-2026) ### [Brand TLDs in Financial Services](https://www.pitch.law/academy/dotbrand-domains-in-financial-services-what-a-decade-of-data-reveals-about-trust-security-and-the-road-to-2026) [Why banks and insurers look at brand TLDs, what a brand TLD can and cannot do against phishing, and which EU rules shape the decision.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/dotbrand-domains-in-financial-services-what-a-decade-of-data-reveals-about-trust-security-and-the-road-to-2026) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/history-and-background) ### [History of ICANN's New gTLD Program](https://www.pitch.law/academy/history-and-background) [How the top-level domain space grew from a handful of extensions to more than a thousand, and what the earlier rounds teach applicants and brand owners today.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/history-and-background) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/icanns-next-round-of-new-generic-top-level-domains-in-2026) ### [ICANN's Next Round of New gTLDs (2026)](https://www.pitch.law/academy/icanns-next-round-of-new-generic-top-level-domains-in-2026) [Where ICANN's 2026 round of new generic top-level domains stands in October 2026, how the process continues after the application window, and what it means for brand owners.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/icanns-next-round-of-new-generic-top-level-domains-in-2026) - [Academy](https://www.pitch.law/academy/strategic-use-cases-for-brand-tlds-from-experiment-to-a-cornerstone-in-digital-strategy) ### [Strategic Use Cases for Brand TLDs](https://www.pitch.law/academy/strategic-use-cases-for-brand-tlds-from-experiment-to-a-cornerstone-in-digital-strategy) [How companies use a brand TLD in practice, from authentication and anti-phishing to internal systems and partner networks, and the legal points that go with each use.](https://www.pitch.law/academy/strategic-use-cases-for-brand-tlds-from-experiment-to-a-cornerstone-in-digital-strategy) ## More in Trademarks & brand protection - ### [Online Brand Monitoring](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/domain-monitoring-enforcement) [Continuous discovery of lookalike domain names, counterfeit listings and impersonating accounts, with detections shown in the client portal for attorney review.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/domain-monitoring-enforcement) - ### [Trademark and Design Watch](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-brand-protection) [Scheduled watches of trademark and design registers, with new hits compared against the last run and routed to a recommended action for you to decide on.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-brand-protection) - ### [Takedowns and Enforcement Notices](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-takedowns) [A notice workflow for marketplaces, registrars, hosts and platforms, with a timestamped evidence pack for each action and enforcement documents drafted in four languages.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/online-takedowns) - ### [Trademark Filing](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/trademark-filing) [Our filing technology prepares your EUIPO, BOIP and WIPO trademark applications in one flow. Your attorney files them once you have confirmed, and nothing is ever filed without an attorney's sign-off.](https://www.pitch.law/technologies/trademark-filing) ## Let’s talk Tell us what you’re working on. We’ll get the right person on it and reply within one business day. The first chat is free. [Schedule a meeting](https://www.pitch.law/schedule)