DBAs, TMs & .coms"

I want to register my company name as a sole proprietorship with the relevant town authorities.

Do I need to register every possible name variation in order to safeguard my reputation and my company name from copying and modification?Guest Posting
And is this completed under a different application or is it completed separately?
Is this what I must do to prevent others from using a version of my company name?
Can my company name and any variations thereof be trademarked?"

This query, which is an excerpt from an email I received this week from a new subscriber, serves as an excellent example of how perplexing the intent behind and distinction between business names and trademarks can be for small businesses and other individuals without ready access to a legion of attorneys to guide them through the minefield.

When your domain name is included, everything is as clear as mud.

This article will discuss business names, trademarks, and domain names, as well as what they are (and aren't), how to protect them, considerations to keep in mind while selecting business and domain names, and if trademark protection is necessary (or even possible).

YOUR BUSINESS NAME

You must register the "fictitious" name with the relevant government agency in your state if you plan to operate your firm under a name that isn't its legal name.
Typically, this refers to the county recorder's office in your area, but depending on where you live, it might also refer to the secretary of state's office.
The relevant entity may be a type of government Department of Small Business in nations other than the United States.

What is your "real" name then?
Your legal name, in this case Fred Smith, is your name if you're operating as a sole proprietorship.
The legal name of your business is the name of your corporation, company, or limited partnership if you are any other type of legal entity, such as a corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, etc.


You DO NOT need to register a fictitious business name with the State if you operate under your own name, the name of your corporation, limited liability company, or limited partnership, since you are not operating under a fictitious name but rather under the legal name of your organisation.
What a Fictitious Business Name Is Used For Legally


To safeguard the general public who come into contact with your business as well as other parties like suppliers, you must register a fictitious business name in order to conduct business under a name different than your company's legal name.
The goal of registration is to enable those who do business with your company to look up and recognise the person(s) "behind" the name."
A fictitious business name lacks contractual capacity (i.e., cannot enter into contracts in its own name) because it is not a legal entity.
A customer who wants to transact with your company must be able to confirm that the party with whom they are contracting is authorised to do so on behalf of the business entity.
The consumer can learn who is "behind" a company by searching the register of fictitious business names because that person is the one they will be doing business with (and, occasionally, suing if the deal doesn't work out!)

For illustration, Alfreda Smith operates her florist shop under the registered fictitious name "Blooming Right."
Florist Supplies, Inc. is interested in signing a contract with Blooming Right to provide tulip stock for Blooming Right.
Blooming Right lacks the legal authority to enter into the supply agreement with Florist Supplies, Inc. because it is just a DBA (doing business as), which is another term for a fictitious business name.(Florist Supplies, Inc. is a corporation, as indicated by the "Inc.", and as such is a legal person with the ability to enter into contracts.)For this reason, Bloo ming Right's legal owner Alfreda Smith is the only party with which Florist Supplies, Inc. will be willing to enter into a contract. The legal entity with contractual capacity is located by Florist Supplies, Inc. via a search of the fake company names register.
In light of this, Alfreda Smith, d/b/a Blooming Right and Florist Supplies, Inc. will be the parties to the supply agreement that is ultimately signed.


You should also be aware that until your fictitious business name has been registered with the state, you will not be able to open a bank account for your company.
The fact that you registered your business name in your county does not preclude someone else from doing the same in a different county.
Only those who work with your firm will be able to identify you as the person in charge of that specific operation through registration.
It does not grant you sole usage of that name in all circumstances.For this reason, if your company name doubles as your brand, you should try to register it as a trademark as well.

TRADEMARKS

A business name is NOT a trademark, as is clear from the reason for registering a fictitious business name, and a registered business name often won't function to prevent use of the name by others (unless as an identical or confusingly similar business name in the same county).
So how can you safeguard the "name" of your company if it also serves to identify and set you apart from your rivals' suppliers of goods and services?
Federal trademark registration is the solution.(Although state registration of trademarks is also an option, it offers few advantages and should only be explored if federal registration is not an option.)

What is a Trademark?

A trademark is defined as "a term, phrase, symbol, or design, or combination of words, phrases, symbols, or designs, which identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods or services of one party from those of others," as was previously mentioned.

In accordance with (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices ac/doc/basic/basic facts.html),

The only difference is that a service mark identifies the provider of a service as opposed to a product.

Registration Not Required

Unregistered trademarks are recognised by common law, therefore a trademark (or service mark) does not need to be registered to become a mark.
You most likely already have a common law trademark if you have used a distinctive trademark (that you own) in commerce.


The assumption that you are the owner of the mark for the goods and services listed in the registration as well as the right to use the mark across the country are benefits that are not accessible if you depend simply on your common law trademark rights.
You would have to establish these facts in court as preliminary questions of fact if you didn't have federal registration.
Imagine attempting to convince a court that you are entitled to exclusive use of the mark throughout the country even though you have only used it in two states.
Additional advantages of federal registration include the following: (a) the fact that registration serves as constructive notice of your claim to the mark; (b) the ability to invoke the jurisdiction of federal courts; and (c) the ability to use registration as a foundation for obtaining registration in other nations.

What Can Be Trademarked?

Looking at what cannot be trademarked first may make it simpler to find the answer.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will not permit you to register a mark if it is not distinctive (discussed below), if it is already in use, if it contains names of living people without their consent, the American flag, other federal or local government insignia, the name or likeness of a deceased U.S. President without the widow's consent, words or symbols that disparage living or deceased people, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, and marks that are simply not

Distinctiveness

Generally speaking, a trademark needs to be distinctive in order to be registered.
This is a trademark legal issue that is incredibly complicated and outside the scope of this article.

But for our purposes, just remember that a mark that is in widespread use in the community won't be able to be registered because there isn't a single person who can be considered the "owner." Let's imagine, for illustration, that your company sells paintings of still lifes.

It would be difficult to register "Still Life" as a trademark because it is a phrase that is frequently used and has a wide-ranging connotation among the public.
(Keep in mind, however, that some trademark types may eventually develop secondary meanings and become distinctive even though they are not currently distinctive.On the supplemental trademark registry, these marks can be eligible for registration and constrained protection.
Consult an attorney for additional information on this.


(On the other hand, providing the same or a confusingly similar name is not already registered in your county, you may very likely be able to register the name Still Life as your fictitious company name.) Therefore, attempt to think of a "coined" or "fanciful" term to increase your trademark's chances of being accepted for registration.Kodak is frequently cited by trademark attorneys as an example of an exceptionally successful invented name.
The name is meaningless outside of its connection to cameras and its current expanded product lines, but anyone who sees it as a trademark of the Eastman Kodak company is immediately able to identify it.

So, the more novel, unique and fanciful the name, the more
likely you will be able to register it federally.

DOMAIN NAMES

So, how does your domain name figure into all of this? In
particular, what is the interrelationship between registered
trademarks and domain names?

Domain Names VS. Trademarks : David VS. Goliath

It is generally *possible* to register any domain name that isn't already taken under the legislation as it exists right now, regardless of whether that name is a trademark owned by a third party.
Do so, but, at your own risk.
Even when the domain name holder purchased the domain name with completely innocent intents, i.e., with no intention of infringing upon the trademark or holding it for ransom, courts are increasingly siding with trademark owners against domain name holders (cybersquatting).

 Domain Names AS Trademarks
Say the domain name you wish to utilise doesn't already belong to a trademark.

Is it possible to trademark it?
Depends. Maybe.
For the reasons mentioned above, a distinctive, original domain name may be eligible for trademark registration.
One instance is my personal website, ahbbo.com.
As "ahbbo" lacks a widespread, everyday connotation, it is very possible that it might be registered as a federal trademark.
Despite owning that domain name, I would have problems registering the trademark "A Home-Based Business Online" because it is used frequently and in many different contexts.

To be registrable, however, a domain name must do more than just serve as a website address; it must also serve as a source identifier for the good or service that the company offers (simply because ANY trademark must identify and distinguish the source of the good or service).

SUMMING UP

Returning to the original query, let's now:

"I want to register my company name as a sole proprietorship with the relevant town authorities.
Do I need to register every possible name variant in order to safeguard myself and my company name from copying and modification?
And is this completed under a different application or is it completed separately?
Is this what I must do to prevent others from using a version of my company name?
Can my company name and any variations thereof be trademarked?"

"Do I have to register every possible variation of the name in order to protect myself and my company name from being duplicated and changed?"

No.
The role and impact of a fictional business name are misunderstood in the query.
The sole purpose of the registered business name is to make it possible for members of the general public and other parties, such as suppliers, to identify the legal organisation hiding behind the false business name.
The trademark of the firm, not its name, needs to be protected from copying and modification (s).
Make sure the name of your company matches your trademarks and register them if you want to create a "brand" with it.

Do I have to register every possible name variation?

Regarding the company name, this was questioned.
The aforementioned justification makes the answer no.
But let's rephrase the query for the purposes of our trademark examination.

Is it required to register all and all trademark iterations?
No.
The trademark examiner won't (at least in theory) permit anybody else to register a mark that is identical to or confusingly similar to your mark once you obtain federal trademark protection for it.


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