Tweet

PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS NAME

Written by: Ken Hollowell

Article Overview: Ken Hollowell explains how important it is to protect your brand.

PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS NAME

Protecting Your Business Name

Think you have a clever business name? You might want to double check.
Choosing a business name can be one of the most gratifying tasks in the startup phase, but naming your business is unfortunately more complicated than simply picking a clever name for your startup. The issues surrounding the choice of a name generally fall into two categories: mandatory government requirements for registration of business names and optional registrations that provide more comprehensive name protection.

Required Registrations
1. Trade or fictitious name. If you'll be using a name for your business other than your personal name, you'll want to register it to ensure that other businesses can't use the name you've chosen. This registration process will also help you avoid legal problems with competitors by keeping you from choosing a name that's confusingly similar to that of another business. Registration of an assumed or fictitious name is also referred to as a "doing business as" or dba. In most states, this registration is done at the county level by filling out a short form and paying a small fee.

Usually a sole proprietorship or a partnership requires such a registration, but it may also be required of a corporation if the company will be operating under both the corporate name and a dba. For example, if you've incorporated your business as the XYZ Corporation but will be operating as the Sunshine Bakery, you'll need to register the Sunshine Bakery as a dba unless, of course, your first name is Sunshine and your last name is Bakery.

2. Incorporating. As part of the process of incorporating, you'll be registering your corporate name with the secretary of state in the state you'll be doing business. This registration process will reveal whether any other business has a confusingly similar corporate name. Following the filing of your corporate papers, you have the right and the obligation to use the corporate name throughout the state in which you filed.

However, you don't have the exclusive right to the name because other unincorporated businesses may already be using it as a trade name, and other businesses may be using the name as a trade or service mark. In other words, your registration has provided you with the exclusive right to use XYZ Inc. That is, your corporate name with the corporate designation such as Incorporated or Inc., Corporation or Corp., Company or Co., Limited or Ltd. is protected.

However, depending on the situation, prior use of the name as a dba, trade or service mark by another business may prevent your use of the corporate name if use of the name will confuse customers. Therefore, it's always wise to conduct a name search using governmental and nongovernmental sources such as telephone books, city directories and industry trade publications for your industry.

Optional Registrations
Whether you seek additional name protection beyond what's required for your business or your products or services depends for the most part on the size of your business and whether you might operate beyond your local geographic area. It's a good idea to conduct a wider name search before choosing a name for your business if you anticipate operating regionally or nationally in the future. To do so, you should conduct a search of the federal register of trade and service marks. If you conclude that the name you've chosen is available, you should look into registering the name as a business trademark or service mark. Although there's a cost attached to these registrations, it's far more costly to have to change a business, product or service name in "midstream" because you've infringed on someone else's name.

Trademarks or service marks consist of two parts: the noun that tells what kind of product or service you're talking about (for example tissues), and the descriptive word or words that identify it as being different from all others (Kleenex). The best trademarks or service marks are those such as Kleenex that are coined words because they're distinctive, and you can keep others from using them. If you're using a mark, be sure to:

• Capitalize the first letter.
• State on your packaging and/or advertising that your company owns the mark.
• If you've registered the mark, use an R with a circle around it to indicate this.
• If you've registered the mark only within your state or not at all, use the letters TM for trademark or SM service mark to indicate your ownership.
• Enforce your rights by notifying other businesses or the media if they're improperly using your mark.

Like every other business decision, the issues surrounding business names can be complicated, and it's always wise to seek information and assistance. In addition to books and websites, you may want to visit your local Small Business Development Center for individualized consulting assistance at no charge.

Related Articles
  How to password protect Microsoft Office Excel 2003
  Is your business protected?
  Lying as a Form of Control
  Why Trademark?
  Protecting Your Ideas

Article Tags: franchise consultant, ken hollowell, our business, profran consultants



Related Forum Posts
Re: SEEKING PRIVATE OR ANGEL INVESTOR - Definitely have a thorough and accurate business plan. In the US, you can get help at SCORE - their website is full of great information and you can check for local chapters. If you would like a book that has all kinds of great information about financing options - this one is very good --- HOW TO GET THE FINANCING FOR YOUR NEW SMALL BUSINESS: INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FROM THE EXPERTS WHO DO IT EVERY DAY—WITH CD-ROM This new book will provide you with a road map to securing the financing. The book goes into traditional financing methods and assists the reader in setting up proper financial statements and a proper business plan. It details the differences between debt and equity financing and how and why to use each. Valuation techniques are explained for determining what your business is truly worth. However, the book’s real strength is in explaining alternative and creative methods of financing, such as SBA financing, investor angels, IPOs, limited public offerings and venture capital. Essential resources for finding the detailed information you need are included throughout. Item # 9780910627559 $39.95 Shri
Re: I want to make money online - First, I'd say definitely online. Your $3,000 will go a lot further online than offline. Second, I'd read Kevin's list and the linked article and make a BUSINESS decision what you want to do, what you can offer and who you can sell it to. Do some serious keyword search and find a hungry niche, and this is your start (free). Second step (free): Sign up for clickbank, paydotcom or some other affiliate exchange and find suitable products to promote. Third step (free): Get a free site somewhere, but make sure it's on something that looks like its own domain - yourname.wordpress.com or yourname.blogspot.com or some such. Write some nice things that promote your affiliate products and put your affiliate links on the page. Fourth step (free): Go on article directories like evancarmiahcel.com (if appropriate) or ezinearticles.com and write stuff that is interesting for your niche, using your niche keywords. Put a link to your new site in the resource box/bio. Keep doing this until you make money. My kids (18 and 12 at the time) sold stuff on clickbank. Anyone can do this. Good luck!
Are you Self Employed or a Business Woman? - Us women are especially vulnerable to thinking we can do EVERYTHING ourselves! I'm not immune to this way of thinking either. (It seems to go with the territory of having XX chromosomes and growing up in our North American culture.) Anyhow, this kind of thinking can actually trip us women up when it comes to business. I've heard it said that a true business is something you create that can eventually run by itself. A business is meant to give us freedom and not tie us down. A business works FOR YOU. If you are the one working FOR YOUR BUSINESS, then I invite you to open up to the possibility of using your entrepreneur skills to recreate a business that works for you. When I was first challenged on this concept, it was a huge AHA moment. I am grateful because I realized I was still a little stuck on working harder instead of working smarter. I've opened up to a whole new world of possibility and now I'm thinking MUCH BIGGER than before. I expect my income will be much bigger as well. In all honesty, I've realized that my coaching business has been a glorified job. I will still do coaching because I love to do it, but now I am in the process of developing multiple streams of income that use my time more efficiently and products that sell even while I'm on holidays. I'm also developing a retail store which will eventually mostly run itself. Then I will move on to my next project. It's liberating to be on the path of creating businesses that work FOR me. This is how I can run multiple companies without wearing out! In fact, I plan on having MORE time for me. So, what are you doing? Are you self employed or running a business?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Sales Flubs

A Guide to Franchise Financing

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.