Protecting Trade Names And Other Intellectual Property Thomas Pedreira
Q.
I'm starting a small S-Corp to sell scenic posters online. I've been advised by a friend/business owner to use a different name for the corporation than the website domain name, which is also the trade name of the business. If I do this, how can I keep someone else from taking my (very unique) trade name/web domain name as their corporate name? For example, if my corporation is Green River Incorporated, DBA Skunkworks, how can I keep someone from registering "Skunkworks" as their corporate name? (These are not the real names).
-- Bob
A.
I'm not sure why your friend made the recommendation he did, but it is good you are paying attention to these issues.
Just by reason of presumably already having registered and secured the right to use the URL for your website, you may have established a prima facie right to use the name associated with it. Another important thing to do, though, is to apply for trademark or trade name protection for your website name, brand, logo or all of them. You can try to do it yourself by going to the website for the U.S. Patent and Trademark office where you can apply online. In the process, do a search on the USPTO website to see if others are using the same name. In addition, you may have to file a fictitious business name statement in the city, county or state where you do business. There may be more you could do, as well, to make sure your name is protected. Go see a lawyer with expertise in this area to make sure. Otherwise, you just might be threatened with legal action and sued down the road if your business ends up being successful using a name that someone else claims to own.
