Search the name before you print it
A business name, a domain and a trademark are three different things. Here's how to check a name before it goes on a label.
Most founders pick a name, form the LLC, buy the domain and order the labels, in that order. None of those steps checks whether someone else already has rights to the name.
Three different things
- Your business name is what the state has on file. It stops nobody from selling under it.
- Your domain is an address you rent. It says nothing about who owns the name.
- A trademark is the right to stop others selling similar things under a similar name.
What a search looks at
A clearance search checks the federal and state trademark registers, and the names already in use online and in stores, even if nobody registered them. It looks for names that sound alike or mean the same thing, not just exact matches, because that's how the USPTO judges confusion.
The cheapest time to change a name is before anyone has seen it.
What to do this week
- Search the USPTO's free database for the exact name and close spellings.
- Search the name with your product category on the web and in app stores.
- If anything comes close, get a full search before you print.
This is general information, not legal advice for your situation. If you'd like us to search a name, a clearance search is a flat fee.