A mark that clears in English may fail as a rude hangul homophone or as a jinmeiyō-looking personal name in Japan.
Icelandic grammar will not approve your product, but Icelandic consumers still have ears.
Regions
- United States — USPTO + domains
High volume, high collision, relatively familiar doctrine for English speakers.
- EU / UK — EUIPO / UKIPO
Multi-language ears inside one filing system (EU).
- Japan — JPO + katakana fittings
Foreign marks get a mora-shaped second life.
- Korea — KIPO + hangul tests
Sound-alike checks in a transparent script.
- China — CNIPA + character marks
A second name in characters is often not optional — design, not luck.
- Spanish-speaking markets — Two-surname cultural ears
Personal-name-like brands can feel like people; two-word structures are normal.
Laws
- National trademark acts Most states — The primary naming law for products.
- Company-name statutes Company houses — A second, often forgotten filing.
- Publicity / personality rights many jurisdictions — Using a living person’s name as a mark.
- Advertising standards varied — A name can be a claim.
Worldwide brand naming is a matrix of offices and mouths. Fill the cells.