When you are naming your business, you do not have an unlimited right to choose any name that you want. Business names can run up against trademark issues. When your business name may be confused with someone else’s intellectual property, you may run into legal issues.
A trademark is something that a company has to protect its goods, products and services. A company does not want any other company to benefit from its hard-earned goodwill that comes from its investments in its brand.
If you make a mistake and choose a name that is too close to that of another entity, you can find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit or demand that you rebrand your own name. If you have already invested in your own name, you will lose that money if you have to change your business name.
You will want to do an exhaustive trademark search before you name your business to ensure that you do not infringe upon someone else’s intellectual property. You should consider hiring an attorney to help with this search because an attorney would have a strong idea of what may be considered problematic and infringement. Your search should include numerous sources, including:
Must expense and headache later on can be saved with an investment of time at the outset of your business. You need to be very careful about your business name, and you must choose it with both business and legal considerations in mind.
The lawyers at Naples & Spence can assist you when you are starting up a business, alerting you to legal issues that you need to consider. Call us at 904.657.7117 or contact us online to schedule an initial consultation.
