Learn · Guides + case studies
How to verify any name.
Forensic guides and verdict post-mortems. Written by Tariq A, founder & ceo, Etymolt. The methodology is public; the worked examples are the proof.
Guides
Cornerstone · 1,400–2,000 words each
Guide
How to Check If a Brand Name Is Trademarked (2026 Guide — Free + Paid Options)
The 4 levels of trademark check — USPTO TESS, freemium tools, APIs, attorney consult. With a walk-through of every step and the real cost in time and dollars.
By Tariq A · 9 minGuide
The Five Ways a Brand Name Dies — A Forensic Post-Mortem
We've watched ~400 names die in 14 months. The deaths cluster on 5 axes. Here's the frequency distribution — and which axis kills the most candidates founders never think to check.
By Tariq A · 8 minGuide
Sound Symbolism for Brand Naming — The Empirical Case (Sapir 1929 to Ćwiek 2022)
Why Tesla sounds electric and Kodak sounds like a click. 95 years of phonosemantic research, the 12 perceptual axes Etymolt scores, and how to measure your own name.
By Tariq A · 10 minGuide
Why We Built Etymolt — A Founder's USPTO Office Action Story
Week 16. A $40K legal bill. An LLM that confidently suggested 5 of 6 finalists — none of them checked. The week we decided LLM naming output had to be verified by default.
By Tariq A · 7 minGuide
Brand Pronunciation Resilience — How to Measure If Your Name Survives Spoken Transmission
A name that needs spelling on every sales call is a name that loses every sales call. The TTS→Whisper round-trip methodology, 12-accent scoring, and the DIY version.
By Tariq A · 8 min
Case studies
Verdict post-mortems · permalinked
Case study
Linear (PROCEED, 94/100) — Why It Cleared Every Axis
A two-syllable Latinate root that scored 94/100 across five axes. Here's what the verdict looked like, axis by axis, and what Linear (the company) did right after clearance.
By Tariq A · 5 minCase study
Falcata (STRATEGIC, 71/100) — Workable With Cleanup
One live USPTO Class 42 senior mark within 88% phonetic distance. Aftermarket.com at $4,200. A clear action ladder — and the 32% refusal probability if filed today.
By Tariq A · 5 minCase study
Coldbrew (ABANDON, 28/100) — Why the Path Is Blocked
47 live senior marks in USPTO Class 30. §2(e)(1) descriptiveness probability 72%. A 5-axis failure that illustrates the descriptive-trap pattern at full scale.
By Tariq A · 5 min
Take the next step
Verify a candidate across all five axes.
Five free clearances per IP. No signup. Sub-3s. Every flag traces to a record number; the verdict permalink stays with you forever.