How to Protect a Business Name

Your business name is important, as it identifies your brand. It helps you build a business reputation and sets you apart from competitors. It alerts potential customers to your business and makes it easy for existing customers to find you.

The last thing you want is for another business to interfere with yours by using a name that’s similar or the same. In this article we’ll look at some steps you can take to protect your business name, starting with getting it registered in your state.

Protecting Your Name at the State Level

The rules for securing a business name vary from state to state, but in nearly every case a state will not permit two businesses operating within it to have the same name.

An entrepreneur wishing to name a business must conduct a search through the Secretary of State’s office to make sure their chosen name is not already in use by another company in the state. You also can use CorpNet’s free Corporate Name Search tool to see if the name is available.  If it’s already in use, you’ll have to pick a different one.

If the name you want for your company is available but you’re not quite ready to officially launch the business, most states will allow you pay a fee to reserve the name, usually placing it on hold for you for 30 to 90 days. Some states let you renew the reservation, while others do not.

When you register your business with the state as either a C Corporation or a Limited Liability Company (LLC), the name you choose belongs to the company and cannot be claimed by another business in the same state.

If you plan to conduct business as a Sole Proprietorship or Partnership using a name that’s different from your legal name, you can register it under a DBA, or “doing business as.”

You’ll also need to register a DBA if your company is a C Corporation or LLC that operates under a name that’s different from the name registered with the state. A business registered as Pietro’s Fine Wine Imports, Inc. that conducts business as Pietro’s Fine Wines, for instance, would have to register a DBA.

However, while registering as a DBA may discourage competitors from choosing a similar name, it generally does not provide the business exclusive rights to that name.

Also, even if you form and register the business as a C Corporation or LLC, the name you choose for it is only protected in the state in which it’s registered. It may be perfectly legal for two or more businesses to operate in different states under the same name. That means if you want to expand your business into another state, your name could already be in use there. In that case, you’d have to choose a fictitious name, or DBA, for use in the state where your business is expanding.

So, while registering your company and its name with your state protects your business name there, it doesn’t safeguard it in other states or give you any rights to it at the federal level.

Protecting Your Name at the National Level

To safeguard your business name on a wider basis, you’ll need to protect your brand with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Doing so prevents competitors across the country from using the same name or one that’s similar and could be confusing to customers and potential customers.

I’ll say up front that obtaining a trademark is not always easy, as your application will undergo extensive review, a process that can take several months. Also, there’s no guarantee that your application will be approved and filing fees are nonrefundable.

You can apply for a trademark on your own, but in many cases it’s advisable to seek professional help. If your business is not based in the United States, the USPTO requires that you have a U.S.-based lawyer. If you decide to attempt to handle your own trademark registration, please pay close attention to the tutorials provided on the USPTO’s website, as these can help you work through the process.

While it can seem daunting, obtaining a registered trademark is a process worth considering if you’re serious about protecting your business name. Let’s start by looking at exactly what a trademark is.

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is something that sets the goods and services provided by your business apart from those of other businesses. A trademark can be the company’s name, a tag line, logo, words, phrases, or sounds that identify a product or service and legally distinguishes it from other products or services of its kind.

Some famous trademarks include Mattel’s pink “Barbie” cursive script, Mercedes-Benz’s three-pointed star logo, and McDonald’s golden arches, or iconic names like Coca-Cola and Apple.

A trademark is different from the legal name of a business, which is the name you register with the state. For instance, the legal name of our company is CorpNet, Incorporated, which we registered with the state of California in 2009. Our trademark name, however, which is what we’re known as by our clients and prospective clients, is simply CorpNet.

There are a few requirements for a name or other mark to qualify for registration with the USPTO. The mark must:

• Be used in interstate commerce, meaning it must apply to a product or services that crosses state or national boundaries. If your product or service is available in just one state, you can’t get a federal trademark.
• Be distinctive. “Distinctive” has a particular definition, according to the USPTO, and if a business name doesn’t fit that definition, it’s not considered a mark and cannot be trademarked. Briefly, a name must do more than just describe the product or service offered by the company and cannot be considered as generic.
• Not conflict with existing registered trademarks. If the USPTO determines that your name and the previously trademarked name of another business are similar enough to cause confusion among consumers, your name is likely to be rejected.

Also, names, logos, and other marks that include the following content are not eligible to be federally trademarked:

• The American flag or other government insignias
• The name or likeness of a U.S. President who has died, unless their living spouse has consented
• Names of other people who are living, unless they’ve consented

Advantages of a Registered Trademark

One thing to understand is that a business may have trademark rights even if it has not registered the trademark with the USPTO. Trademark rights begin as soon as a business starts regularly using a name, logo, tagline, or other descriptor to differentiate its products or services from those of other companies.

Trademark rights acquired simply by using the name or logo in business are known as common law trademark rights. While they can provide some protections, a problem is that they can only be enforced in the geographic area where the trademark is used. So, if a competitor in the next state, or even a different part of the same state, wants to start selling a similar product with a similar name, common law trademark rights are not likely to prevent them from doing so.

A company that has registered a federal trademark, however, can use its trademark rights to stop a new business from using a similar name, logo, tag line, or sound to distinguish its similar product or service anywhere in the country. Other advantages of having a federally registered trademark include:

• Trademark is listed in USPTO online databases
• You have the right to use the federal registration symbol “®”
• There is public notice of a company’s claim of ownership of its trademark
• You can record the federal registration with U.S. Customers and Border Protection to prevent the import of infringing foreign goods
• You can bring an action concerning the trademark in federal court
• You can use the U.S. registration as a basis to obtain trademark registration in other countries
• A trademark can make the business more attractive to potential investors and partners

Steps to Trademarking Your Business Name

If you believe your business name qualifies and you’ve decided to seek a federal trademark, you’ll have to file a formal application with the USPTO that includes specific details about your business and the goods or services you provide. The actions outlined below can help you get started.

1. Conduct a Trademark Search

You’re not required to conduct your own trademark search before submitting your application to the USPTO, but doing so can save you time and money.

As you read earlier, your name cannot be the same or very similar to the trademarked name of another company. The name you submit will be considered by a trademark examiner, who will search to see if it’s in conflict with an existing name. If it is, it will be rejected.

So, conducting a search on your own before submitting the name enables you to discover any possible problems before going to considerable effort and expense to submit your application. Note that completing the application can be time consuming, and at the beginning of 2025, the non-refundable application fee was $350.

Start by searching the USPTO database to see if your trademark is the same or similar to an existing registered trademark. Be sure to search your exact name and similar names to get a better idea of what marks are already registered.

2. Complete Your Application

Once you’ve determined your name is not the same or very similar to another, you can work on the application you’ll submit to the USPTO. You’ll need to provide some basic information about the individual or business that’s filing for the trademark. You also must include:

• The name that you want to protect with a trademark, along with any particular color, style, or font in which the name will appear
• The products or services to be provided under the trademarked name. You must describe your product or service and identify the class it belongs to, such as Medical Apparatus, Musical Instruments, Housewares and Glass, Computer and Scientific Services, or Advertising and Business Services. You can register your trademark in more than one class, but additional fees will apply. If your product or service fits one of the USPTO’s standard descriptions provided on the application, you can use it and not have to come up with your own description. If there is not a standard description that applies to your product or service, you’ll have to come up with your own for the application.

Once you’ve completed the application, you’ll need to sign it and date it. Then you can file it, along with the applicable fees.

3. Submit the Application

File your application electronically with the USPTO’s Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS). There are two options: TEAS Standard and TEAS Plus.

TEAS Plus is the less expensive filing option, but you can only use it if you used one of the USPTO’s standard product of service descriptions provided on the application. If you wrote your own description, you’ll have to use the TEAS Standard option, which costs more and often takes longer to process.

Upon filing, you’ll receive a filing receipt with a serial number you can use to check on the application.

4. After You’ve Filed the Application

After you file your application, it’s referred to a government patent attorney for review. When the review has been completed, the USPTO patent attorney will inform the applicant of any problems with the application, if necessary. Notice of problems is known as an office action, to which the applicant typically gets six months to respond.

If no office action is required and the application is approved, the USPTO publishes the trademark online to provide the opportunity for anyone who may oppose it to file notice of opposition. If there is opposition, you have the option of hiring a trademark lawyer to defend your mark. If no one opposes it, your trademark will be registered.

Once your trademark is registered, it’s important to quickly employ it as your brand in all aspects of the business. Use it on your website, marketing materials, social media, signage, email, and anything else that people see. Not using the trademark could trigger someone to claim you don’t deserve the protection it provides.

You’ll be required to file a “Declaration of Use” after you’ve held the registration for five years and again after nine years. Also, you’ll have to file a renewal application every 10 years to maintain ownership of the trademark.

Protecting Your Name Online

Registering your company’s domain name – the site address that links users to your website – demonstrates that you’re serious about protecting your brand. It also assures that your business name will be available to use in your internet address.

You can limit the chances of another business using your company’s name in its domain name by registering several names using all the common domain name extensions. If your business is called Beauty Plus, for instance, consider registering beautyplus.com, beautyplus.net, and beautyplus.co.

While registering your domain name stops another business from having the same domain name, however, it’s possible that another company could use your business name or something similar to it to establish a social media account. Consider registering your social media accounts under your business name to prevent another company from doing so.

Getting Help When You Need It

Trademarking your business name is the best step you can take to protect it. As you’ve read, however, doing so is not a simple process.

If you find that the registration process and the steps necessary to maintain the trademark once you’ve received it seem overwhelming or confusing, I’d highly recommend that you reach out to a trademark attorney or an online trademark search and registration service for help.

Getting assistance can save you time and ensure that the process is completed correctly and in a timely manner.