What Is a Brand Score?
A Brand Score is a 0–100 rating of how ownable a brand name is, based on trademark conflicts, domains, business entities, social handles, and search competition. Here's how to read one.
A Brand Score is a 0–100 rating of how ownable a brand name is, calculated from five signals: federal trademark conflicts, business entity registrations, domain availability, social handle availability, and search competition. A higher score means fewer obstacles between you and actually owning the name.
It exists to answer the question every founder asks with a shortlist in hand: which of these names can I actually have? Not which sounds best — which one you can trademark, register, host, and rank for without a fight.
The five signals
Trademark conflicts (USPTO). The heaviest signal, because it's the one that can force a rename after launch. The screen looks for live federal registrations and pending applications that are confusingly similar to the name — similar in sound, spelling, or meaning — not just exact matches, weighted by how close the conflict is and whether it sits in a related class of goods or services.
Business entity registrations. Secretary of State records showing companies already operating under the name. An active entity with the same name is both a legal obstacle (you may not be able to register it in that state) and a market-confusion problem.
Domain availability. Whether the .com and meaningful alternatives are available, parked, or actively used. A taken-and-parked .com is an expense; a taken-and-operating .com is a competitor for your own name.
Social handles. Availability of the name across major platforms. Less legally significant, but a taken handle on the platform your customers live on is a permanent marketing tax.
Search competition. What already ranks when someone searches the name. A name can be legally clear and still be practically unownable because page one belongs to a dictionary word, a celebrity, or an entrenched product.
How to read the number
There's no magic threshold, but as a working guide:
- 80+ — the name is substantially ownable. Conflicts, if any, are distant or in unrelated categories.
- 60–79 — ownable with caveats. Typically a solid name with one contested signal: a taken .com, a same-name entity in one state, or a distant trademark worth a closer look.
- 40–59 — proceed only with eyes open. Real conflicts exist; you're choosing to fight or coexist.
- Below 40 — the name has a serious existing footprint that isn't yours. Usually the right move is the next name on the list.
One nuance that surprises people: an established brand screening its own name should see its own footprint as the top "conflict." If we screen a well-known startup's name and the biggest results are that startup's own trademark, domain, and search presence — that's a name that did its job. The score measures ownability for a newcomer; for the incumbent, a crowded result is proof of ownership.
What a Brand Score is not
It's not legal advice, and it's not a substitute for a trademark attorney's clearance search before a high-stakes filing. It's a screen — a fast, evidence-based way to eliminate names that would fail expensive diligence, so the names you spend real time and money on are the ones with a genuine shot.
It's also not a beauty contest. The score says nothing about whether a name is memorable, pronounceable, or right for your market. A bland name can score 95; a brilliant one can score 12 because someone brilliant got there first. The score tells you what you can own. What's worth owning is still your call.
Where the score comes from
Every BrandScreen report runs the five signals live — USPTO trademark data, state entity records, domain registries, platform handle checks, and search results — and rolls them into the single score, with the full evidence itemized underneath. The free preview shows the headline signals; the full report includes the complete trademark similarity analysis and multi-state entity search.