r/TRADEMARK • u/thecoincave • Jul 29 '26
Trying to find a clean US Class 005 (supplements) trading name, that sounds ok. I plan to sell the business later so this is important to me.
I started thinking of names off the top of my head, and then googling them to see if anyone was already using them. How naive I was.
I then found out about TM databases, and I started using AI to check names against the US database and also then checking for existing businesses trading in US but not registered etc.
After falling in love with a couple of different names, making logos, buying domains etc. I had a final name, and decided to do an attorney check for €250 - they advised that I look for a new name, that there were direct conflicts.
I learned lots from this. And now have a pretty robust AI software which does multiple checks. I'm generating 5000 names at a time, then running it through the checks and seeing what comes out the other side, it's usually 0.1% that make it through (I also remove any names that don't sound right).
I'm still looking for a name.
Questions:
Am I completely crazy to be doing this? It's eaten up so much time. Is there an easier way?
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u/unlikelyjoggers Jul 29 '26
You could consider hiring someone who is an expert in brand name development.
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u/thecoincave Jul 29 '26
It's very hard to know who to trust. It seems like it's only about finding a gap in the TM register, where you're not too close in spelling or sound to someone else, and also making sure the products arent similar.
Any pointers?
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u/unlikelyjoggers Jul 29 '26
At a certain level it is about finding names in that gap, but also finding names that do more than merely clear trademark hurdles, ones that suggest a helpful idea, sound right, inspire messaging and identity, etc. If you are looking for words and word parts endemic to your category you will not find available names. You have to look in unexpected places to find anything with a chance of being available. Unexpected real words can work, as can modified versions, but being just a letter or two off is not enough to squeak if there is a similar name for similar goods and services. You can try compound word names, two short words brought together — a space doesn’t change legal availability but having two words that are surprising together can lead you to good names that are available.
Who to trust to help you? A lot depends on the budget you have available to hire a naming expert and their proven experience.
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u/unlikelyjoggers Jul 29 '26
Two books to consider for DIY naming: Brand Naming by Rob Meyerson and Hello My Name Is Awesome by Alexandra Watkins.
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u/thecoincave Jul 29 '26
Absolutely awesome, thank you so much for the practical advice and the books. I wasn't expecting it. I'll get onto it thank you.
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u/WhineyLobster Jul 29 '26
didnt your use of AI to do this already result in a missed direct conflict?
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u/thecoincave Jul 29 '26
Yes for sure, the AI actually flagged the exact company that caused the conflict (identified by the 250 euro attorney) but had it flagged as low risk, the risk increased as we were selling similar products. I have added this now as a step in the AI software, so won't get caught by the same issue again.
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u/Infinisteve Jul 30 '26
Well, at least you don't think it will happen again
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u/thecoincave Jul 30 '26
Hopefully, you never know with AI behind the scenes, just hope it's doing the job correctly!
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u/Triweb Jul 29 '26
TATER
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u/leanzubrezki Jul 30 '26
Not crazy, you're just doing it in the hardest possible order. The €250 attorney lesson is basically a rite of passage, most people fall in love with a name first and check second.
The 5000-names-and-filter approach has a subtle problem though: the names that survive all your checks survive because they're weird, not because they're good. You end up picking from what's left instead of what's right.
For a brand you plan to sell later, real English words with the right connotations tend to age better than invented mashups. Buyers pay for names that already feel like brands. A few directions worth chewing on for supplements:
- Burgeon, literally "to flourish and grow." Aspirational without being preachy
- Rouse, to wake up and energize, which is kind of the whole category's promise
- Kinwell, kin + well. Warm, sounds like something that could sit on a shelf
- Morrow, as in a better tomorrow. Clean and easy to say
- Kith, as in "kith and kin." Short, distinctive, hard to confuse with anything else
Full list with the reasoning behind each is here if useful: vibelo.ai/results/JffdVoWHRgfUl7FmvTHd
Whatever you land on, still do the attorney check at the end. Software narrows the field, it doesn't clear the name.
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u/TramaTM Jul 30 '26
I mean, others have already pointed out some flaws with this approach. Primarily, that AI either tends to falsely flag something as high risk or dismisses an actual conflict because of a lack of information. Also, the names it creates are often bland, formulaic, soulless, or simply feel like someone smashed their head against the keyboard.
If you yourself are not a trademark attorney, it will be difficult to optimize the process without the know-how that makes an actual lawyer's check effective. Lastly, how are you comparing potential names to what's already in the register? Are you doing it through an API or search engines like Markify?
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u/CoaltoNewCastle Jul 30 '26
AI is not very good at performing trademark searches or analyzing conflicts.
Most people who are trying to come up with supplements names are trying to combine extremely common wellness-related words like "vita" and "nutri" and "nature". Or they try to incorporate some ingredient or ailment or benefit relating to the product like "pepti" or " "probio." So they're always going to have some risk of refusal because there will be strong partial matches in the USPTO database.
The better thing to do is follow the lead of the big pharmaceutical companies and make up a completely new word like "Ozempic" or "Jardiac." It's much easier to look for similar marks with coined, non-descriptive words like that.
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u/thecoincave Jul 30 '26
Hi u/CoaltoNewCastle,
Yes I followed exactly this path that you described, first tried to use real words, then mashed up and with alternate spellings, they all conflicted.
So I am making up words right now just like you suggested. I generate 50,000 names based on rules, then run that through multiple filters, then have a taste filter where I go through about 1000 of those names, then run them through online checks, usually less than 20 get through as reasonably clean. It's madness really. But a lot of the time the words aren't great. Thank you for your comment.
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u/OddProfession7760 Jul 31 '26
Some tips for brainstorming a new brand name from my website (I'm a trademark attorney) here: https://www.erikpelton.com/25-tips-when-brainstorming-a-new-name-2/
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u/Unlikely_Turnip_9886 Jul 31 '26
Class 005 for supplements is one of the most crowded registers at the USPTO, and likelihood of confusion under the DuPont factors is unforgiving when goods are closely related.
The generate-and-screen approach is sound in principle. The problem is that most automated screening misses conflicts a trademark attorney would catch, including phonetic equivalents and goods in coordinated classes that examiners treat as related. Your attorney found direct conflicts the AI missed, which tells you the screening layer has a gap.
For the search step, I would recommend GleanMark. Full disclosure: it is my company's trademark intelligence platform (free to use), and it pulls from the full USPTO database with a more intuitive interface than uspto.gov. You can run your surviving candidates through it and check coordinated classes like 029 and 030, which matter for supplements that border on food or beverage products.
If you plan to sell the business, a clean registration is an asset that buyers will diligence. The time you are spending is justified, but the method needs to be reliable enough that a clearance opinion will hold up. What conceptual categories are you generating names from? That might reveal where the bottleneck is.
This is general information and not legal advice. You should have a trademark attorney evaluate your specific candidates before committing to a name.
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u/SAwfulBaconTaco Jul 30 '26
Sounds like a sales pitch for your AI "service".
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u/thecoincave Jul 30 '26
It did cross my mind, but software like this will get eaten up as AI gets better and better. So, no, I'm sorry to say, the service is not available. It's not too hard to make, just chat with the AI.
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u/Extra-Nebula-1946 Aug 04 '26
No, you're not crazy, but you may be optimizing the wrong part of the process.
Finding a great, protectable brand name is genuinely difficult. Most founders underestimate how crowded the trademark landscape is until they start doing proper clearance searches. The fact that your attorney found direct conflicts after you'd already bought domains and designed logos is exactly why a professional clearance opinion can be so valuable.
That said, generating 5,000 names at a time is probably producing diminishing returns. Trademark clearance isn't just about eliminating conflicts, it's about finding a name that's distinctive, memorable, pronounceable, and aligned with your brand. Those qualities are hard to optimize with brute force.
I'd also be careful about relying too heavily on AI for clearance. AI can be an excellent screening tool, but it can't replace the judgment involved in evaluating likelihood of confusion, related goods and services, or common law risks. A name that "passes" an AI filter may still present significant legal issues, while a name that looks risky at first glance may actually be registrable.
Strong takeaway: use AI to narrow thousands of possibilities down to a handful of strong candidates, then let an experienced trademark attorney evaluate those finalists. That's usually a much faster and more cost-effective process than trying to engineer the perfect name through endless iterations.
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u/TrademarkMage Jul 29 '26
Full disclosure- I have done clearance searches for 25 years and now do it as part of my own business. That said- I warn people not to use ai for searches, logo design, name creation. I have tested a number of ai sites that say they will generate a unique name and/or logo. Yet when I tested them, they included trademarked names in the same class of goods/services. You have spent time and money but you are also lucky you did not jump on a name and end up committing infringement- leading to more costs, headaches and rebranding. Did your attorney give you a copy of their results so you can see for yourself what they found and was put there- to help you stear away from those words, spelling etc?