Trade-marks Database Tutorial

Lesson 3: Refining Searches

If you've searched for a term and the database has returned hundreds of results, you will want to refine your search so that you can find the "needle in the haystack." In this section we will cover the following:
Using "Search field" options
Searching with multiple criteria

Using "Search field" options

You can search in specific fields by using the "Select search field" drop-down menu.
drop-down menu of Select search field

Select the option by which you wish to search.
Options available for search fields

Use the fields for the following reasons:

Searchable fields
Select this field:
For this reason:
Trade-mark Lookup (Default)
To search by all of the following fields: Trade-mark, trade-mark description, foreign character translation and index headings
Application Number
To search by the application number
Registration Number
To search by the registration number
Current Owner Name
To search by the current owner's name
Old Owner Name
To search by an old owner's name
Old and Current Owner Name
To search by all owners
Trade-mark
To search by words, numerals or letters in the trade-mark
Trade-mark Description
To search by a description of the trade-mark
Foreign Character Translation/Transliteration
To search trade-marks containing foreign characters
Index Heading
To search by trade-mark word component
Wares
To search by product(s) (wares) associated with a trade-mark
Services
To search by service(s) associated with a trade-mark
Wares and Services
To search by both product(s) and service(s)
Disclaimer
To search by a portion of a trade-mark that is disclaimed
Vienna Codes
To search by the design of a trade-mark according to its Vienna code number
Vienna Codes Description
To search by the description of a trade-mark's design elements

See the "Searchable Fields" section of the database Help file for detailed explanations of each search field option.

Searching with Multiple Criteria using Advanced Search

If you need to conduct a search that requires you to combine multiple search criteria, you need to use the Advanced Search feature of the Trade-marks Database.  You will noticed that there are five possible search boxes on the Advanced search page. To refine a search, you can combine up to five different criteria when performing a single search.

An "operator" is used to tell the search engine how to combine the different criteria. There are three types of operators: "AND,” “OR,” and “BUT NOT."

Searches 2 to 5 have an option to select an "operator."

Operators for different criteria

When entering multiple search criteria, select an operator based on the result you need:

  • AND
    Both search criteria will be included (e.g., "red AND apple" will locate documents containing both these words)
  • OR
    At least one of the search criteria will be included. (e.g., "red OR apple" will locate all documents containing at least one of these words)
  • BUT NOT
    Excludes words or phrases (e.g., "red BUT NOT apple" will locate documents that contain the word "red" but will exclude all documents containing the word "apple")
Lesson 2
| Index |
Lesson 4