Trademarks are different from business names. We know, it gets confusing. Hold tight, we’re about to explain.
When the California Secretary of State registers your LLC name, it just establishes that name as your LLC’s formal legal name. It doesn’t mean that you actually have the legal right to use that name, or any form of it, to sell your products and/or services.
There are federal and state trademark laws designed to protect the names that are used to market products and services. Companies often use a shorter version of their business name as a trademark.
Example: Apple Computer Corporation becomes Apple, which is the trademark for all of those computers and devices everyone loves.