Use of 'Dead' Trademark

[BLGriffin]

I've come up with a tag line for my company and wanted to go ahead and trademark it. After a quick google search, I found that a fortune 500 company once used this tag line also. After searching through the USPTO filings, I found that this company's trademark on the tagline is 'Dead' and was abandoned in 2002, but from my understanding, just because it's not still registered doesn't mean it's free to use. I plan to have a company perform a thorough trademark search, but I'd rather not waste my limited funds on searching for a trademark with a high likelihood of being taken.

Which brings me to my question:

What is the likelihood that this company still has legal claim to this trademark?

Also, can someone recommend a trusted company that can perform a comprehensive search on a trademark? Any opinions on LegalZoom?

Thanks for any help!

 

[jharris352]

Most of the time there is a "cooling off" period on names and trademarks. I dont know how long that is. Names in GA are 5 years.

 

[SandraMSovin]

For trademarks, you are correct. Because trademark rights can be accrued through use, lack of a registration does not necessarily mean a lack of rights. There may be many reasons why a registration or application is abandoned. A full search is a good idea, because you may be able to determine if common law use is continuing, amongst other information. Even if in use, it is possible that your intended use may not be confusingly similar, depending upon your goods and other factors. Please contact me if you would like to discuss further and/or proceed with a search and opinion. You may be surprised to find that you can have the benefit of a personal relationship with an IP attorney for essentially the same fees as that of some online services.