The success score: what it measures – and what it doesn't
A number without an explanation is worthless. This page sets out which factors feed the score, how they rank against each other, and exactly where the number stops being a statement.
What the score is
The success score is an inverted risk figure from 0 to 100. It answers a single question: how much of an obstacle are the marks found in the register for your sign? The higher the value, the less the hits stand in your way. So the score rates the register findings – not the prospects of your application at the office.
What your value means
No obstructive hits in the register. Still walk through the list once – especially the classes you actually intend to sell in.
At least one hit is close enough to matter in opposition proceedings. Often this can be defused by narrowing the class list or adjusting the sign.
One or more hits are very similar to your sign and active in relevant classes. Get a lawyer to review this before filing – or pick a different name.
The four factors
Every hit found is assessed individually. Four factors feed in, in this order of weight:
Similarity of the sign
Strongest factorAppearance and sound. It is not just the letter sequence that is compared but the pronunciation: using Cologne phonetics, TMPilot recognises that ‚Meier‘ and ‚Mayr‘ are the same sign to the ear. Word beginnings count more than word endings because they shape recognition more strongly. This factor carries the greatest weight.
Nice class overlap
Second strongestTwo identical names only collide if they meet in the market. That is why the overlap of goods and services classes counts. Important: this factor only engages above a minimum similarity of the sign. Pure class identity between entirely dissimilar names does not raise the risk – matching the cumulative requirement of Sec. 14(2) no. 2 German Trade Mark Act and Art. 8(1)(b) EUTMR.
Legal status of the cited mark
Corrective factorA registered or pending mark is a live obstacle. A cancelled, withdrawn or lapsed one is not. Legal status corrects the value in both directions; expired hits are always forced to low risk, however similar the name may be.
Identity premium
Corrective factorAn exact or near-exact match adds a premium. It ensures that a mark named exactly like yours always sits at the top of the list – including your own, if you have already filed it.
The bars show how the factors rank against each other, not the exact coefficients.
From a single hit to the overall figure
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1
Collect the hits
The search runs live against EUIPO and DPMA – across all classes, with no pre-filter. Phonetic variants of your sign are queried as well, so hits spelled differently but pronounced the same do not slip through.
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2
Rate every hit
The four factors produce a similarity value per hit and from that a level: high, medium or low. The thresholds are fixed and identical for every search.
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3
Cluster mark families
If the same proprietor files the same mark in eight classes, that is eight register entries – but one conflict. Such families are clustered and count once. Without this step a single large proprietor would drag every score down.
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4
Weight and cap
High-risk conflicts weigh considerably more than medium ones; low ones do not feed in at all. Caps apply on top: a single high-risk hit caps the score regardless of how many harmless hits sit beside it. That is deliberate – a real obstacle cannot be averaged away by volume.
Why the exact weights are not on this page
What is disclosed: the factors, their ranking, the thresholds and the capping rules – everything you need to follow a result and to argue against it. The concrete coefficients stay internal because they are continuously recalibrated against actual opposition and cancellation decisions. A published set of numbers would be wrong after the next calibration – and a score that can be gamed towards a desired value is worthless as a warning signal.
What the score is based on
A score can only be as good as its data. So here is what is searched and what is not:
Searched
- +EUIPO – EU trade marks covering the entire Union, queried live on every search
- +DPMA – German marks, likewise live, not a database dump from last week
- +International registrations under the Madrid System (WIPO) designating Germany or the EU – they are held in the DPMA and EUIPO data and appear in your result list with WIPO as the source
- +Pending applications not yet registered – because an opposition can arise from a mere application too
Not searched
- –National registers of other states – a French or Italian mark without EU or IR protection will not show up
- –Registers outside Europe, such as the USPTO or the Asian offices
- –Figurative marks as images – pure logo similarity cannot be searched; the word element is what gets checked
- –Unregistered rights: company names from the commercial register, work titles, domains, marks acquired through use
Where the score ends
- •The score is not a registration forecast. Whether the office registers your sign also depends on the absolute grounds for refusal – distinctiveness, descriptive character, state emblems. TMPilot reports those separately as findings with their legal basis, deliberately without a number.
- •The score is not legal advice. Whether a specific hit prevails in opposition proceedings is a case-by-case assessment reserved to lawyers (Sec. 2 German Legal Services Act). TMPilot is not a law firm.
- •The score says nothing about whether a proprietor will actually act. Many marks are never enforced; some owners pursue every hit. That is a question of the person, not the register.
- •A high score is not a clearance. It says: within the data searched, nothing obvious stands in your way. What lies outside that data is listed above.
Check your sign and see the score yourself
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