Business Law Lawyer
For many people, selecting a name for their new company is very exciting. When considering possible names, care should be given to ensure it reflects the goods and/or services that your company will offer customers. These are important aspects of creating a brand identity that will be associated with your company throughout its life.
Once you have selected an available company name, a business lawyer can help you protect it. This is important so that others cannot take advantage of your investments and hard work in creating a brand identity.
How might you protect your new company’s name?
There are four ways in which you can accomplish this, as an attorney, like a Rockville, MD, business law lawyer from the law offices of Daniel J. Wright, can explain. Determining which method is best suited for your needs will depend on your circumstances, and a knowledgeable business lawyer can help you make the right decision.
- Choose a domain name. This is the website address where your company’s website will reside on the Internet. Though a website is not legally required, it is often of great benefit as it can drive customers to the company and substantially increase revenue as a result. Once you have chosen a domain name you must check to see if it’s available. If it is, then your next step is to register it. You can perform this task yourself or hire a company that specializes in providing this service.
- Register your company as a “Doing Business As (DBA)” entity. A DBA is also known as a fictitious name, a trade name, or an assumed name. This type of registration does not provide any legal protection but it may be required depending on the nature of your business structure. A business lawyer can clarify for you whether or not a DBA is necessary in your case.
- File a trademark application for the reservation of your company’s name. This will protect it at the federal level of the
United States so that no other companies within the country can use your company name. If you will be doing business outside of the U.S., talk to a business lawyer about your options for protecting your company from foreign entities taking claim to your business name. The United States Patent and Trademark Office maintains a database of current business names, service names, and product names. You can check it online to ensure your names are unique and available for trademark purposes. - File an entity name claim with your state’s government. This will protect that name at the state level only. Talk to a business lawyer to learn if this will be sufficient protection. They may recommend additional taking additional safeguards. Regardless of whether or not you protect your company’s name in other ways, your state may require you to register the company with them. By reserving the name, it can prevent confusion with other companies that might otherwise have the same name.
Protect Your Best Interests
Choosing a name for your company is only the first step; understanding how to protect that name is a necessity. Contacting a business lawyer is the best way to learn how to do this the right way.