WIPO launches free AI trademark search tool for brands

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) powered image search tool for brands.

The search tool can determine trademark image similarity by identifying shapes and colours in marks. It utilises trademark data from the Madrid System, as well as from large trademark offices.

The search tool currently covers national collections from 45 trademark offices, which covers a total number of almost 38 million trademarks.

WIPO’s new search tool aims at providing narrower and more precise results for similar marks compared to previous tools.

WIPO director general Francis Gurry commented: “In the field of trademarks, our state-of-the-art AI technology is a major improvement that will create greater certainty for the development of new image marks and greater ease for monitoring potentially misleading or conflicting new registrations.”

“This kind of enhanced business intelligence is invaluable in a globalized economy in which the volume of economic agents seeking brand protection is expanding rapidly.”

He added: “The increasing demand for IP rights across the globe is overwhelming current-generation systems, which is why WIPO is leading on the development of artificial intelligence-based tools that improve the global IP system.”

“A larger data pool means better AI results, so I encourage trademark offices whose collections are not included in the Global Brand Database to consider adding them as soon as they can.”