Smallbiz Bookstore Msg. Marketing Insurance Surveys Small Biz. Starting Out Sales Mgt. Here's how to find out. After you ve narrowed the field to, say, four or five business names that are memorable, expressive and can be read by the average kindergartner, you are ready to do a trademark search.
Many small businesses don t register their business names.
As long as your state government gives you the go-ahead, you may operate under an unregistered business name for as long as you like assuming, of course, that you aren t infringing on anyone else s trade name. An obscure company in Ogunquit, Maine, considers your name an infringement on their trademark and engages you in a legal battle that bankrupts your company. Or, envision your business in five years. It s a thriving, growing concern, and you are contemplating expansion. But just as you are about to launch your franchise program, you learn that a small competitor in Modesto, California, has the same name, rendering your name unusable.