A trademark clearance search is an integral step in the trademark selection process that enables the trademark attorney to evaluate the availability and registrability of a proposed mark. The clearance search is an essential tool, because in the United States, trademark rights are acquired on a first to use basis. This means that an individual or an organization acquires trademark rights by being the first in a given market to use the mark. Once those rights have been acquired, the trademark owner, “senior user,” has the right to prevent a subsequent or “junior user” from using confusingly similar marks in any manner that is likely to cause confusion a...