The original name for this invention was called Pole Pal, but our attorneys said that that term was already too close to other names in the market. At the time it felt like bad news; however, it led us to an even better name Rollie PollieTM which we love even more! Here are some insights from navigating the trademark submission process.
Setting your Requirements
Selecting a good name that people remember and describes the essence of a good or service can be deceptively difficult. Alteration is a popular shortcut for many marketers. The placeholder name for our project was "Pole Pal", but that name was too close to a name that was already taken. So we set out to find a better name for the project.
We began by making a spreadsheet and listing labels relevant to the solution we were creating. Words like Wagon, IV, Pole, Wheel, and Roll were added to the list. Dozens of similar words were also added. Then we made another column for fun words like Wizard, Robot, Gripper, and Wonder. Then we made a list of the combinations of all of these words. We gave each combination a score based on how Descriptive, Memorable, and Fun it was.
Selecting your Term
The full list of word combinations contained hundreds of items. The term "Roll Poll" had good marks for being descriptive and memorable, but it fizzled on the fun element. Before moving on to the next item on the list it occurred to us that if we added an "ie" suffix to the end it would still meet the other requirements and include a huge fun element!
The small isopod that children find under rocks or in the garden has had many names: Pill Bugs, Wood Lice, Armadillidium vulgare, and Roly Poly or Roly-Polies. These fascinating creatures have a long history of captivating the attention of children and adults alike. They don't harm humans or pets and they have a cool trick. They can fold and unfold themselves just like our invention! In fact, the more we thought about it the more similarities began to emerge (Both grey and thanks to the kick-stand feature can be found under other items). The term Rollie Pollie maxed out each of the individual categories and had the highest total numerical rank on our spreadsheet at the end of the naming exercise.
It is important to note that as cool as it was to list Rollie Pollie, we still had to finish evaluating the rest of the names. If the term had already been taken as the initial term had, then additional high-quality options would be a necessary contingency.
Verifying Available Terms
The United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a database of trademarked terms. Before you settle on a name visit this websiteor type "Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)" into your preferred search engine. The database will display the trademark status of the term you've selected. This will also include results that include other combinations of words used in your term.
Previously trademarked terms may be used only if that registration is listed as abandoned. Additional clarification of the term's use will also be listed in the search results. Regersiting a duplicate term may be ok if the uses are so different as to not be confusing to the customers, but such determinations are made by the USPTO office. Choosing to try for a registered term is risky and will cost a submission fee regardless of how favorable the outcome of that determination is for the applicant.
Application Process
Once you've selected a meaningful term and determined its availability, then it is important to move quickly to the application phase. When trying for a trademark for the first time, it is important to do it right. We asked our intellectual property attorneys to help us through the process for the first submission.
After the first name we chose fell flat we wanted to be sure the next try was a great success. We showed the attorneys the ranked spreadsheet, with the research we had already completed for Rollie Pollie through the USPTO TESS web portal.
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