Name Searches
“Checking out names takes time—a couple of weeks in my case”
Tim Bray, The Open Source Process
I’ve heard this over and over. Anyone who has ever dealt with lawyers or the government while trying to do a trademark search or business name search or what have you has wondered…
I’m seriously curious about this. It seems to me that it would be not unreasonably difficult to set up an internet-based self-serve trademark/name registration database. Certainly it would be complicated to arrange all the jurisdictions on the planet. Certainly users would still have to research the veracity of any claims.
Nonetheless, if such a resource became the de facto standard and was available at nominal cost (hopefully, free) it could have serious legal weight in many jurisdictions. Under most modern legal systems you have a responsibility to take reasonable measures to defend infringement of your trademark/service mark/business name/&c. The availability of a “Google® for Trademarks” could be a boon. Being a part of it could be considered de rigeur if one wants to be taken seriously in a court of law.
I’m sure there are a million reasons this can’t work. By all means tell me what they are.
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