Search engines are useful tools for searching to see if a trademark that is the same or similar to a chosen mark is already in use and, if so, where and for what products or activities, but it cannot help brand owners to really detect all potential obstacles and, therefore, such searches give, at best, a false sense of security. Only a detailed trademark search in official or purpose-built databases will be able to identify such potential conflicts. However, such an online search will not identify those marks that have already been registered, but not yet launched into a marketplace – or at least not yet in such a way that it comes up highly ranked in an online search.

In this internet age where ‘free’ information is at everyone's fingertips 24/7, it may be tempting to use an online search engine, such as Google, to conclude whether a trademark already ‘exists’. But, how can you be sure that the mark you've selected hasn't been registered or isn't being used by another party already? Trademark searching provides a quick and simple means to investigate the availability of a chosen brand and trade name in sectors and countries of business. It takes time, resources and money to create distinctive and effective company, brand and trade names. Of course, there may be additional reasons behind Disney's decision, but – as a general rule – changing a character’s (and film’s) name in this way, has significant financial implications, and requires additional investment in communication to avoid confusion in the marketplace. ‘Moana’ is not legally available for use in most European countries and, given that ‘Vai’ means ‘water’ and ‘Moana’ means ‘ocean’, the sense is ultimately the same. According to the INDAC blog, one of the creators of the cartoon, John Musker, also confirmed this information at the last Annecy Film Festival. The reasons behind the change of name are not completely clear, but a tweet from Disney España gives an important clue: ‘Moana’ is registered as a trademark in Spain, and in a number of other European countries, hence the change to Vaiana in Europe. While it is not unusual for a film title to change from one geographic region to another, whether for linguistic or cultural (or marketing) reasons, it is rarer to see the name of its heroine also change so radically in particular, when the character’s name is also the title of the film.

Novagraaf’s Anca Draganescu-Pinawin explains the disparity. Some of you may have noticed that Disney’s new heroine is called Vaiana in most parts of Europe and Moana almost everywhere else.

Miana name meaning