You put a great deal of effort in choosing the perfect name for your business. You registered the business with the Secretary of State in every state in which you operate. That’s all you need to own your business name, right? Wrong.
Registering your business with the Secretary of State only means no other business in your state has the exact same name. There could be businesses in other states with the exact same name, or very similar names. There could even be a business in your state that is operating as a sole proprietorship under an assumed name that is identical to yours aside from the LLC, Inc., etc. after your business’ name.
If any of those names were in use prior to your use of the name, that can spell expensive trouble for you. The other business owners using the same name, or even highly similar names, can in many cases force you to stop using your business name. That means rebranding, which is expensive and creates confusion that can result in a loss of customers.
The only way to ensure you fully own the rights to your business name is to register the business name as a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Registering your business name this way lets the world know you have the ownership rights to that name when it comes to the goods and services you provide. It means you can be the one to send a cease-and-desist letter to a copycat, rather than being on the receiving end of one.
Getting your business name trademarked isn’t cheap if it’s done well, but it is worth every penny for the peace of mind it provides in preventing unexpected, expensive, and potentially damaging rebranding work.
King Business and Patent Law helps clients register their business names, logos, slogans, product names, and trade dress. We do the thorough searching and analysis to discover any potential issues with registration and work with clients to overcome them so they can obtain maximum protection for the brand they are working hard to build.
