In simple English
This tool checks if a new company name or product name conflicts with existing US trademarks. It downloads the official government trademark database to your computer and runs local searches. You can use it from your command line, through a web page, or connect it to an artificial intelligence assistant. It requires a free API key from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The initial download is large and takes a few hours to set up.
What it is
A Python-based command-line interface (CLI, a text-based tool run from your terminal window), web application, and MCP (Model Context Protocol, an open standard for connecting AI models to data sources) server for searching the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademark database. It downloads raw trademark records, stores them in a local SQLite (a lightweight, self-contained database engine stored in a single file) file, and ranks potential conflicts by risk.
What it is good for
Solo founders and indie makers checking if a prospective brand name or product name has obvious direct conflicts in the United States before spending money on legal registration.
- Runs completely on your own machine without sending your search terms to a third-party SaaS provider.
- Includes a local web interface and API endpoints for custom scripts.
- Supports integration with AI coding assistants via the Model Context Protocol.
- Initial data download is around 22 GB compressed and takes two to four hours to ingest.
- Only covers United States trademarks and misses international or common-law marks.
- Does not replace formal legal clearance from a qualified attorney.
Manual searching on the public USPTO trademark website
uv
pip install chktm export CHKTM_USPTO_API_KEY="your-key-here" chktm init