It is not uncommon for brand owners or marketing heads to ask why they need an availability search before they apply for a trademark. Afterall, a clearance or availability search does not guarantee that the trademark will be accepted by the IP Office and consequently registered.

Well, the following short stories will buttress the point in this post.
In 1976, American TV giant company, News Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) rolled out a new trademark with a big “N”.

In no time, Nebraska ETV filed a lawsuit against NBC for trademark infringement. NBC had to settle out of court in damages in excess of $800,000 for ETV to rebrand. Lucky NBC, they could retain their new mark after all. Meanwhile, a clearance search would have cost around $2,000.

Not-so-lucky “Speakeasy” blog owner, Robyn Hatcher (in her exclusive interview with Forbes’ Kelly Watson), had to quickly rebrand ‘overnight’ to avoid an expensive lawsuit from the registered trademark owners in the U.S.

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