searching
The search of the prior signs is a means of identifying, before taking any step to register a trademark, a certain number of prior filed/registered signs which could jeopardize the registration/use of your sign or company name as a trademark.
It is always recommended to conduct a trademark on one’s own before envisionning trademark use or registration and even before creating a company name. It is important to note that in Switzerland before a company registers with the Commercial Register, no prior trademark search is conducted by the notary nor the Commercial Register.
Several very useful trademark databases are available to the public to conduct those searches. For example, trademark searches can be conducted in TMview from EUIPO is a convenient tool for searching for trademarks in many participating offices, including EUIPO, the WIPO, the USPTO and the IPI. We conduct trademark searches before use or registration.