WIPO launches AI-based trademark search

WIPO announced that the WIPO Global Brand Database will now be used to search for figurative marks based on new AI technology. WIPO considers the search results of the AI-based trademark search for similar figurative marks to have been considerably improved by the AI.

Trademark search is a must, both before the own trademark application, but also for the observation of possible competitors and for the expansion of the own trademark. Similar to a patent search, the applicant can either do the trademark search himself or hire a professional to do it. Yesterday, WIPO announced that from now on the search for figurative marks will be carried out using new AI-based technology via the WIPO Global Brand Database. This WIPO trademark search database is available to all users free of charge.

AI-based trademark search especially for figurative marks

According to the press release published yesterday by WIPO, the AI technology leads to a narrower and more precise classification of potentially similar trademarks and provides more planning security for trademark registration and strategic planning of trademark expansion. The idea behind this is that the AI’s algorithm better recognizes when similar or very similar figurative marks have already been applied for. The Global Brand Database offers a search area in which you can search for both the intended image motif and goods and services in which you want to locate your trademark.

Previous generation image search tools primarily determined the similarity of trademark images by identifying shapes and colors in trademarks, the WIPO press release describes. WIPO’s new AI-based technology improves this technology by identifying combinations of concepts – such as an apple, an eagle, a tree, a crown, a car, a star – within an image through deep machine learning to find similar brands that have previously been registered.

WIPO Global Brand Database – what brands can be searched for?

The WIPO Global Brand Database makes it possible to search for already protected trademarks registered under the Madrid system of designations of origin – under the Lisbon system – and also trademarks protected under the Paris Convention. Several national trademark collections are also included, but all registered trademarks are not covered by the WIPO database.

The Register of the German Patent and Trademark Office (DPMA) and the European Union Trademark Register (EUIPO) with claims for protection for Germany or the EU are very relevant for the German scope of protection. Trademark search before filing a European Community Trademark application requires a careful trademark examination in addition to the European Community Trademarks Register and International Registrations according to the Madrid Trademark System, all national registers of the 28 member states must also be examined.

Even an identical or confusingly similar trademark in the national trademark register, for example in Slovenia or Cyprus, could result in scubbering a complete EU trademark application. An incorrect or incomplete trademark search can even lead to the fact that the more recent own trademark registration ultimately has no validity.