How to Check a Brand Name Before Ordering Design

1. The trademark registry

First stop — the public trademark registry (in Russia, via Rospatent/FIPS; check your local equivalent elsewhere). Search the exact name and close variants in your goods/services class. If the name is already registered in your category, using it commercially is risky, even if you genuinely came up with it independently.

2. The domain in the zones you need

Check .com and any country-specific zones you're targeting. A taken domain isn't always fatal — a variant (adding a word, changing the ending) can work — but it's better to know before the naming is locked in, not after the website is built.

3. Social handles under the name

Check handle availability on the platforms you plan to use. If the name is held by an inactive "ghost" account, buying it out is sometimes possible, but budget time — and possibly money — for that.

4. A plain web search

A simple search shows whether the name overlaps with an already-known brand, person or term — even without a formal legal collision, reputational confusion with someone else's known name will cause problems later.

5. How it sounds in other languages, if relevant

If you're targeting an international audience, check whether the word means something unfortunate in your target languages — a quick "[word] means" search usually surfaces the obvious landmines fast.

What to do if the name is already taken

You don't have to give up entirely — a spelling variant, an added qualifier, or a different goods/services class (if the overlap isn't direct) are all options. In tricky cases it's worth consulting a trademark attorney rather than relying on a self-check alone.