Opinion ID: 1475663
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: A Trade Name Gives Rise to a Property Right

Text: Ownership of a trade name is a property right. It is made so by statute in California. Sections 14400, 14401 and 14402 of the Business and Professions Code (Deering, 1944) read as follows: § 14400. Ownership. Any person who has first adopted and used a trade name, whether within or beyond the limits of this State, is its original owner. 14401. Transferability: Protection accorded. Any trade name may be transferred in the same manner as personal property in connection with the good will of the business in which it is used or the part thereof to which it is appurtenant, and the owner is entitled to the same protection by suits at law or in equity. 14402. Remedy for violation of rights. Any court of competent jurisdiction may restrain, by injunction, any use of trade names in violation of the rights defined in this chapter. In Eastern Columbia, Inc. v. Waldman, supra, 30 Cal.2d at pages 269 and 270, 181 P.2d at page 866, the state Supreme Court recited that plaintiff has used the trade name `Eastern Columbia' and acquired property rights and good will therein, and that The findings establish that the plaintiff owns the trade name of `Eastern Columbia'. [1] The California rule accords with general law. In Siegel Co. v. Federal Trade Commission, 327 U.S. 608, 612, 66 S.Ct. 758, 760, 90 L.Ed. 888, Mr. Justice Douglas referred to trade names as valuable business assets and adverted to the policy of the law to protect them as assets of a business, citing Federal Trade Commission v. Royal Milling Co., 288 U.S. 212, 217, 53 S.Ct. 335, 77 L.Ed. 706. [2]