You want to avoid using a name that could be confused with the name or brand of an existing business. What for? You want a name that differentiates your business and on which you can build your brand and reputation. This will be more difficult to achieve if there is another company with the same name. In addition, you want to make sure that you don`t unknowingly expose your business (and perhaps yourself) to legal challenges by third parties who may later claim that you are infringing their trademarks. You did it. After hours of brainstorming, furious searching for synonyms or rhyming words and names of friends and family, you`ve finally found the perfect name for your business. They are happy that the appropriate URL is available at least in the .us top-level domain. However, they are not yet clear. Your business can only have one “legal” name at a time. However, it can have any number of aliases or DBAs (“doing business as”). So if you have other business name ideas, you can use them as database administrators.
For example, if the official name of your LLC is “Smith and Jones, LLC”, you can file a DBA to do business as “Best Painters” and another DBA to do business as “World Wide Painters”. You can use these DBA names on your website, in signs, advertisements, promotions, etc. Regardless of the name you operate under, you need to keep an eye on transactions. Patriot`s online accounting software is easy to use and offers free support in the United States. Try it for free today! Supporting LGBTQ+ businesses in June – Pride Month – is all well and good, but it`s also important to buy and empower this community of entrepreneurs and the businesses that champion them throughout the year. The LLC vs company name can be two separate names and serve different purposes. The LLC name or legal name is the official name of the company used to sign documents, file tax returns, file lawsuits, or file a loan application with a bank. On the other hand, a business name or trade name is the name that the public uses to identify your business.
This can be on anything from business cards to websites to marketing pieces. You have the option to choose whether the two names are identical or not. One of the first things you do as a business owner is choose a business name. Your company may operate under your legal name. Or you can run your business under a business name. So what`s the difference? Read on to learn more about the company name versus the trade name and how they contrast. There`s more to naming your limited liability company (LLC) or business than choosing the perfect name for your business. You should also ensure that the name complies with the state LLC or corporate law before you set up your LLC or business.
This is the name that customers and customers know your business as in the “real” world, as opposed to legal deposits with the government. A trade name may be completely different from the official name of your company, or it may simply omit the commercial legal termination (LLC or Inc.). In Delaware, for example, the company name must include one of the words “association,” “corporation,” “corporation,” “club,” “foundation,” “fund,” “registered,” “institution,” “corporation,” “union,” or “limited” (or abbreviations with or without punctuation). The Department of State`s Companies Division may waive this requirement (unless it believes the name is or resembles an individual`s) if you issue, certify, and file with the Secretary of State a certificate stating that your total assets are not less than $10,000,000. Also, with a few exceptions, your business name may not contain the word “bank” or any variation thereof. A trade name does not need to contain additional legal words or phrases (e.g., Corp, LLC, etc.). For example, the business name of a company is Mike`s, but its legal trade name is Mike`s Corporation. A business may choose to have its legal and trade names identical. Try to find a name that`s relevant to your industry or business. For example, if you have an internet business, you may want your web domain name included in your official name.
If you are the owner of a partnership, the name of the partnership is usually a combination of the last names of the owners of the partnership and must be included in the partnership agreement. CT Tip: If you`re not yet ready to form or start your LLC, a name reservation allows you to reserve your preferred name for future use. Reserving a name is also convenient if you have already formed or formed an LLC and then want to change your legal name. Your attorney may obtain and analyze reports that identify company names, trademarks, and other third-party uses that not only resemble your name, but are also used for products or services that overlap with or relate to your products and services. A preliminary search conducted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the registers maintained by the various state trademark registers is conducted online. Your attorney can also conduct an online search to identify other unregistered uses of the same name. You can check up to three names in the same application. Checking the availability of a name does not automatically reserve the name. You can request to reserve a name for a period of 60 days by sending or submitting a name reservation request form to the Secretary of State`s office in San Francisco with a $10 check. Form available here: bpd.cdn.sos.ca.gov/corp/pdf/name-reservation-request-form.pdf. The availability of company names determined by the name verification process with the various ministries of foreign affairs (see below) does not guarantee that the name can be used as a trademark in connection with the sale of certain goods or services.
In other words, securing a name by filing founding documents, qualifying for business, or even registering a related domain name does not confer trademark rights. So if you intend to use a variation of the company name as a trademark or service mark in your business, it`s usually worth doing trademark searches to see if conflicting or similar marks or names are being used. Conversely, a business name can be an entirely new name that is more catchy, helps show what your business does, and sounds more professional. An example would be a marketing company that wants to demonstrate its skills by coming up with a creative business name instead of using the owner`s name. If you intend to operate your business or offer your goods or services in another country (now or in the future), it is important to research the availability of the brand in those other countries as well. Registering a trademark with the USPTO is a national field of application – if you want to protect your name in another country, you will need to apply for a separate trademark registration in that country. It`s important to remove your brand in all relevant countries: when it`s time to expand, you don`t want to be surprised to realize that you can`t use your company name in this important foreign market. Also, keep in mind that in many countries outside the United States, rights are based on registration – not use – which makes it even more important for you to examine international trademark applications.
It is important to do some research before using a proposed trademark to ensure that you are not sued by a current trademark owner. If you use a trademark that causes or could cause confusion between your goods, services or businesses and someone else`s products, services or business, you may be prosecuted under Canada`s Trade-marks Act. If you use a trademark that has already been registered by someone else, you can be sued for trademark infringement. To reduce your chances of getting sued, you can conduct a trademark search on the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) website to determine if someone else has registered the same or a similar trademark in Canada. You can also search online to determine if your proposed trademark is being used by someone else in Canada, whether registered or not. This may include a search of the NUANS database. While greater protection is available for trademarks, the owner of an unregistered trademark also has enforceable rights to that trademark and can take legal action against you. To ensure that you are aware of all potentially conflicting trademarks and their impact on your ability to adopt and/or register your trademark, you should hire a trademark attorney to conduct research and provide an opinion on the registrability and/or availability of your trademark.
