A Trademark is protected for the goods and/or services for which it has been registered and related to. Designation of the relevant classes for goods and/or services is significant as regards the accuracy of the preliminary search and calculation of application costs. 

For example, “ABBATE” Trademark, which has been registered by a firm active in textile sector for the 25th class concerning textile products, is, as a principle, protected for this class. The owner of this Trademark has gained a right to use this mark exclusively. This means that in respect of the 25th class concerning the textile products any application to be made for “ABBATE” or a similar sign would probably be refused or be opposed by the owner of the earlier Trademark

Consequently, first of all, it should be determined for which goods and/or services the sign is intended to be registered. In order to understand the Trademark classes and to determine which classes the sign you intend to register is related to please see the Classification of Goods and Services. 

Following the determination of the relevant class(es) for the goods and/or services related to the sign to be applied for it will be examined whether there is any registration certificate or application for registration with an earlier date in the name of a third party for an identical or similar sign in the same class(es).   

As a result of the preliminary Trademark search, the sings registration probability of which is high or middle would be applied for. However, the signs with high refusal probability would not be applied for.  

The advantages of the Preliminary Trademark search are as follows;

- Determination of the refusal probability for the registration application as regards the identical or similar Trademarks within the same class(es), 

- Understanding and prevention of conflicts that may arise between third parties and, consequently, avoiding any loss of investment cost to the Trademark.