Guest guest Posted February 21, 2000 Report Share Posted February 21, 2000 >Can any one tell me how to register and find out if name that I want to use >for my company is taken? I guess I need to do a nationwide search but have >absolutely no idea how to go about doing this. Try www.uspto.gov/tmdb/index.html This is a government database of trademarks and applications. I don't know how comprehensive it is but at least it will give you some info on whether your idea is taken. I've been at it all evening - most of the names I like are taken. But at least I have good taste - My number one choice was just submitted in December for trademark by Crabtree and ! They beat me to it - Curses, foiled again! Rhonda in SB The Still Unnamed Soap Company! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2000 Report Share Posted February 22, 2000 Greetings Members: I wanted to add a comment to the discussion about tradenames. If you decided to operate with a name other than your own name, you may need to file a fictitious name statement with your local courthouse. This serves to protect the public (by making publicly available the names of individuals running a company) in the event your company causes injury.(Yikes!) Check with the clerk of the court in your jurisdiction about this. He/she can also tell you if the name is available at the local level (or may refer you to your state corporation commission for the info). Just because someone hasn't filed trademark registration with the U.S. Trademark office doesn't mean the name hasn't been registered locally for future use. Furthermore, you should file your trademark papers ASAP to protect yourself. Get the application from the trademark office--the instructions are self explanatory (you will need to file a nicely prepared drawing of your logo if you have one) with the application. Call information for the number. The U.S. Patent and Trademark office is in Crystal City, VA. The area code in Virginia is 703. The area code for Washington, D.C. is 202. Good luck. trademark search >From: " Rhonda s " <rhondad@...> > > >>Can any one tell me how to register and find out if name that I want to use >>for my company is taken? I guess I need to do a nationwide search but have >>absolutely no idea how to go about doing this. > >Try www.uspto.gov/tmdb/index.html > >This is a government database of trademarks and applications. I don't know >how comprehensive it is but at least it will give you some info on whether >your idea is taken. I've been at it all evening - most of the names I like >are taken. But at least I have good taste - My number one choice was just >submitted in December for trademark by Crabtree and ! They beat me to >it - Curses, foiled again! > >Rhonda in SB >The Still Unnamed Soap Company! > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >GET A NEXTCARD VISA, in 30 seconds! Get rates as low as 0.0% >Intro or 9.9% Fixed APR and no hidden fees. Apply NOW! >1/911/4/_/_/_/951201593/ >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 22, 2000 Report Share Posted February 22, 2000 Greetings again: I just thought of something else to share with respect to the tradename/ trademark discussion. Forgive me for plastering you with two e-mails and not including this info in the previous e-mail. If you are a corporation doing business in another state, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) of that other state will require you to file your company name and data with them. This protects and enables the citizens of that state, who may be injured by your company, to get jusrisdiction over you in the event of a lawsuit by serving process on you via the SCC, (who will then notify your state's SCC, who will then notify you). A similar concept exists when you cause a vehicular accident in another state--the citizens of that state can get jurisdiction over you by serving the Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles in the state of injury, who notifies your DMV, who notifies you. Therefore, you should also check with the SCC to see if anyone from outside your state is using your intended company name and transacting business in your state. This is where the notion of a nationwide search is generated. You could conceivably spend days calling each state to see if anyone in that state is using your name. (It just occurred to me that it would be really helpful if each state's SCC put this info on-line. Check it out, I don't know if they have. Also, check the national phonebooks on the internet for the name). Generally, if that firm's lawyers are worth their salt, they would have filed for trademark protection at the national level via the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office, and that would help you to quickly get the information you need. However, not all lawyers (or company owners) may have thought to do this. That is why it is important for you to file the trademark application ASAP. At least if you get hauled into court on a trade name dispute, you can claim that your name was registered first. (Although the other side would claim that they were using the name first and that you should have had notice because it was filed with the SCC). But trust me, you don't EVER want to wind up in the BLACK-HOLE VORTEX THAT IS OUR COURT SYSTEM. And I mean EVER, for ANY reason. It will take the sale of many THOUSANDS of units of your inventory to defend your claim, even if you win! And lawyers don't really care who wins, as long as they get paid a big fee upfront, an hourly fee of several hundreds of dollars to continue, and the more complicated the matter becomes (i.e. the longer they can drag it out and inflame you to fight) the better. So, take the requisite steps to protect yourself now and do the footwork yourself. Why assign your profits to the legal profession or take on a silent partner? I hope this helps. P.S. As an interesting footnote, ESSO gasoline company reportedly wanted to make aboslutely sure that nobody had the name EXXON. Several months after spending thousands of dollars doing extensive searches, filing the name, changing their signs, and heavily advertising the name change etc., they found out there were three people in a remote Colorado town with the last name of EXXON--operating, of all things, a gas station! I think they paid them off... ;-) trademark search > > >>From: " Rhonda s " <rhondad@...> >> >> >>>Can any one tell me how to register and find out if name that I want to >use >>>for my company is taken? I guess I need to do a nationwide search but >have >>>absolutely no idea how to go about doing this. >> >>Try www.uspto.gov/tmdb/index.html >> >>This is a government database of trademarks and applications. I don't know >>how comprehensive it is but at least it will give you some info on whether >>your idea is taken. I've been at it all evening - most of the names I like >>are taken. But at least I have good taste - My number one choice was just >>submitted in December for trademark by Crabtree and ! They beat me >to >>it - Curses, foiled again! >> >>Rhonda in SB >>The Still Unnamed Soap Company! >> >> >>------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>GET A NEXTCARD VISA, in 30 seconds! Get rates as low as 0.0% >>Intro or 9.9% Fixed APR and no hidden fees. Apply NOW! >>1/911/4/_/_/_/951201593/ >>------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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