That $900 trademark search my cousin swore I didn't need

Back in 2019 I was naming a small bakery in Columbus and my cousin told me to skip the trademark search. Said it was a scam, that nobody would care about a local name. Turned out a chain in another state had the same name and their lawyer sent a cease and desist 8 months later. Cost me $4,200 to rebrand and reprint everything. Has anyone else gotten burned by ignoring those basic checks?

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craig.john3d ago

Wait, your cousin convinced you to skip a search for a BAKERY name and you listened? That's wild. I had a similar thing happen with my landscaping company. A guy two states over had the same name, and I only found out when his lawyer called me directly. I guess I just assumed a local business name wouldn't matter, but it does. I ended up spending nearly a grand on new signs and website changes, plus the headache of telling all my existing customers. It's one of those things where you think you're saving money, but you're really just paying twice.