AdSlogans

This is where AdSlogans comes in…

AdSlogans is the only search tool that has been designed specifically for checking slogans (also called straplines, taglines and endlines) and for the last 30 years has been used by the world’s leading advertising agencies, brand creation agencies, law firms and brand owner marketing and legal teams.

Why is AdSlogans different?

The conventional brand clearance process focusses on which trade marks have been registered. The problem with this approach is that many straplines /slogans are not registered and so are not picked up by these searches. Despite not being protected by a trade mark, they are often important parts of brand collateral and may be protectable under other areas of law, such as the tort of passing off.

Our AdSlogans unique search functionality at a fixed fee price allows you to verify or discount the use of general advertising slogans and straplines before you or your client have fallen in love with them … avoiding the all too common problem of being told later that it cannot be used without infringing third party rights.

The AdSlogans database

• A database of over 500,000 slogans, endlines, straplines and taglines

• Jurisdictions - UK, Ire, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand with other English language lines from English-speaking countries and some limited foreign translations. We do not target specific countries outside these regions however, results may come through from other countries which we would then include in our final report.

• Media: TV, cinema, print, radio and outdoor including some digital video and results from an internet search engine.

What’s included?

Option 1 – AdSlogans LineCheck (without trade mark search)

Our AdSlogans LineCheck contains details of unregistered or common-law use of the target line in advertising. It does not include trade mark register searches. 

Option 2 – AdSlogans LineCheck (including attorney-run trade mark search)

Our AdSlogans reports, including an attorney-run trade mark search, will include an additional document outlining relevant, statutory trade marks rights. This trade mark search should be considered a coarse search only, looking exclusively for identical or near-identical earlier trade mark rights that may pose an immediate and fatal block to use and/or registration. 

This search does not extend to earlier confusingly similar trade mark rights that could also give rise to a threat to use and / or registration of the target line.  For further information about our comprehensive trade mark searches, please contact our Brands & IP department.

Option 3 - Risk Assessment

The abovementioned reports detail relevant earlier rights, we also offer an assessment of the legal risks posed by the results. This service analyses the threats posed to use and registration of the proposed slogan and ranks them using an easy-to-follow traffic light system corresponding to the level of risk. Our attorney will provide a range in % of what high risk/medium risk and low risk mean. The trade mark attorney will highlight any areas of concern and may suggest further trade mark searches are undertaken. Our trade mark attorney will confirm whether the searches have identified a potential risk, and that we should seek advice from a lawyer qualified in that territory.

Jurisdictions searched - Trade Marks

‘UK/Ireland’: UK, Republic of Ireland, EUIPO (unitary trade mark protected 27 EU Member States) and International Trade Mark Registrations filed via WIPO that designate protection in the UK, Republic of Ireland or EUIPO.

‘Extended’: UK, Ireland, EUIPO, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and International Trade Mark Registrations filed via WIPO designating those territories.

An additional charge of £50 per additional country outside these territories will apply.

For non-English speaking countries, our identical search does not cover transliterations or translations of English words into local languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese or Arabic characters).

Costs

What other searches are available outside of the AdSlogans service?

In addition to more detailed trade mark searches, we provide domain name, company name, registered design and common law searches. We also provide investigation services.

Click here to download our AdSlogans Inbrief.

Contact details

If you have any questions, or would like to order an AdSlogans search please call us on +44 20 7074 8379 or email us at adslogans@lewissilkin.com.