Reserving a name temporarily protects it while an entity is being organized. A name is available to reserve or register if the name is distinguishable from the names of existing organized entities and from names reserved or registered. Organized entity means corporation, cooperative, limited liability company, limited liability partnership and other organizational types detailed in AS 10.35.040. People who have used a business name for a long period of time may have created a common law right to the use of the name. Places to look include, but are not limited to, business license records, telephone directories, trade magazines, trademark records, catalogs, and so on.
Restrictions apply to business and corporate names, even if the name is otherwise available.
A business or corporate name may not imply that the organization is a governmental unit, e.g. a city, village or borough. Names that mislead regarding corporate purpose are not allowed. Vulgar names are not allowed. Words used to identify goods and services, used as slogans in advertising or used to indicate association with an organization are trademarks or service marks and cannot be registered as business names. Trademarks can be filed for Alaska using form 08-565 or filed under the federal Lanham Act.