From a best practices perspective, ordering a comprehensive search from industry leaders like Thomspon CompuMark and CT Corsearch is recommended. They have the expertise to construct searches that return the most relevant results.
The reality, however, is that many individuals and small companies decide to do their own searches to save money. Though there is certainly an art to constructing approach searches for word marks, most people can cobble together at least a rudimentary and superficially effective basic word mark search. But they generally don’t know where to start if their mark contains a design, and they are trying to search design marks.
In order to search designs, you should use the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s design codes. Design marks are assigned different codes, which allows for searching. The design codes and how to search them are explained here. Effectively searching design marks requires practice, patience, and creativity.
