Q&A

How to make sure your business name is available?

How to make sure your business name is available?

There’s only one way to ensure that you won’t violate someone else’s trademark rights: Do some digging to find out whether another business is already using a name that’s identical or similar to the one you want to use. Unfortunately, there’s no one place to look when searching for conflicting business names.

Is it legal to protect your business name?

But are there legal steps you can take to do that? Absolutely. If yours is the first business to use the name, you can protect it so that no one else can use it without your prior permission. And the proper way to protect a business name from use by others is to register it as a trade name.

Can a company name be registered on another website?

This list will contain names that you won’t find in any other database — usually unregistered trademarks of very small companies. If you find that your chosen name (or a very similar name) is listed on a local fictitious or assumed name register, you shouldn’t use it.

Can a business name be used on a T-shirt?

Putting your name on a store sign or on employees’ T-shirts isn’t enough to protect your trade name from use by others. If your business name is unique and hasn’t been used or registered by someone else, it may qualify for protection under the trademark laws of the United States as well as the trademark laws of your particular state.

There’s only one way to ensure that you won’t violate someone else’s trademark rights: Do some digging to find out whether another business is already using a name that’s identical or similar to the one you want to use. Unfortunately, there’s no one place to look when searching for conflicting business names.

But are there legal steps you can take to do that? Absolutely. If yours is the first business to use the name, you can protect it so that no one else can use it without your prior permission. And the proper way to protect a business name from use by others is to register it as a trade name.

Putting your name on a store sign or on employees’ T-shirts isn’t enough to protect your trade name from use by others. If your business name is unique and hasn’t been used or registered by someone else, it may qualify for protection under the trademark laws of the United States as well as the trademark laws of your particular state.

This list will contain names that you won’t find in any other database — usually unregistered trademarks of very small companies. If you find that your chosen name (or a very similar name) is listed on a local fictitious or assumed name register, you shouldn’t use it.