Legal Definitions - preliminary availability search

A preliminary availability search is a moderate search of registered trademarks and common-law uses of proposed trademark names or phrases. It is done to narrow the list of names or phrases before conducting a thorough search.

• A company wants to name their new product "Swift". Before conducting a thorough search, they do a preliminary availability search to see if there are any registered trademarks or common-law uses of the name "Swift" in the same industry.
• A musician wants to name their new album "Echoes". They do a preliminary availability search to see if there are any registered trademarks or common-law uses of the name "Echoes" in the music industry.

These examples illustrate how a preliminary availability search is done to narrow down potential names or phrases before conducting a more thorough search.