Can I trademark a mobile application name that exists, but in a different region / language and unrelated to my app's functionality?

Question

I have a couple questions regarding the possibility of trademarking the name of a mobile application that I am developing.

The main question is: Can I trademark the name and logo of a mobile application if there exists an application on one of the major platforms utilizing the same name? I have searched for an existing trademark for the application name and haven't found anything. It is also worth noting that the application is in a different language than mine.

The other question is: If I want to trademark the name of my application as well as the logo, but not necessarily requiring them to be together - does that require two separate trademark applications? One for the logo and one for the name?

Thanks!

Answer 1

The test is one of facts and circumstances and doesn't have a bright line answer. In all likelihood, the answer is "no" you can't, but it isn't clear cut or obvious from the available information in the question and probably wouldn't be certain or clear even if all of the necessary information was available.

If I want to trademark the name of my application as well as the logo, but not necessarily requiring them to be together - does that require two separate trademark applications? One for the logo and one for the name?

Yes.