With millions of businesses already existing — and thousands more joining the pool every day — finding a truly unique brand name is challenging. You need to do your due diligence to ensure any potential business name on your list is not already taken before designing an uber-cool logo and minting those pricey embossed business cards.
The last thing you want is to receive a cease-and-desist letter from a trademark holder a few weeks after launching your new business.
Thankfully, there are simple ways to quickly check across multiple databases to ensure that the name you’ve got your sights on is free and up for grabs. In this article, you’ll learn how to check if a business name is taken. We’ll also explore if and when it’s okay to use a trademarked name, plus how to protect your business name once you’ve chosen one.
Why You Need a Unique Business Name
Choosing a unique name for your business may seem like a minor detail, but it’s a critical first step that can impact your company in several ways. Here are some key reasons why choosing an original name is beneficial to your business, both legally and in terms of long-term growth.
Legal Requirement for DBAs and LLCs, etc.
Firstly, choosing a unique business name is often a legal requirement when registering your business as a DBA (Doing Business As), LLC (Limited Liability Company), Corporation, or other business structure. Government regulatory bodies and filing offices require this to prevent customers from confusing two or more businesses — especially when those businesses operate within a similar industry or the same vicinity.
To Avoid Trademark Infringement
A unique business name protects you from trademark infringements. Even if you don’t plan to trademark your business name from the beginning, you need to ensure that another brand has not already registered the name you plan to use with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office). If you fail to do your due diligence, a trademark holder could slam you with an expensive lawsuit.
Makes Marketing Easier and More Effective
Having a unique business name not only protects you from legal issues. It also helps with marketing success. For example, an available domain name that matches your business name will help you get easily discovered online.
A distinct business name also helps with search engine visibility, as generic names tend to perform poorly with organic ranking. With a creative and custom name, your target customers can find you when searching for your products or services online.
For Brand Differentiation
Selecting a unique name for your business will make it stand out like a purple cow in the ever-crowded marketplace. With so many companies struggling for the limited attention of customers, you need a name that will capture attention and leave a lasting impression in the minds of your target customers.
Think about iconic brands like Apple, Samsung, Tesla, and Coca-Cola. Their business names are not just catchy and memorable — they are completely unique with no closely matching competitors. When you hear any of those household names, your mind recalls their fantastic products and business offers, and you’d never mistake them for any other company. That’s the power of choosing a truly distinctive brand name. It helps you cut through the noise and make a real impact on your target customers.
Make Room For Future Expansion
Even if you plan to start modestly, it’s crucial to choose a business name that leaves you unhindered room for future growth and expansion into other verticals. You never know what direction or dimension your business might take years down the road, so you want to avoid a name that limits your potential for evolution.
Think Amazon. If they had picked “Online Bookstore LLC” in their early days, branching out to the multitude of products and services that they render today would have been burdensome — or even impossible. By picking a unique, adaptable name, Amazon could grow and iterate into the trillion-dollar company we now know it to be without being limited by its initial brand identity. That’s the type of flexibility you also want for your new business, regardless of how humble its beginnings.
Picking a unique name gives you the leverage to build a strong, easily recognizable brand from the start. It captures the essence of your business and gives your customers an immediate picture of what it offers.
So, you want to engage your creativity and take your time to find a one-of-a-kind name that will perfectly represent your business for years to come.
How to Check if a Business Name is Taken
After days of brainstorming, you’ve finally found the perfect name for your brand. But before you invest in a name, you need to run a search to ensure it’s truly available.
The last thing you want is to put that business name in shining lights right outside the doors of your new premises only to discover that it’s already been trademarked by someone else. The good news is that running checks is pretty straightforward. In this section, we’ll reveal how to find out if a business name is taken.
- Search Your State:
The first place to start a name search is with the Secretary of State filing office within the state where you plan to operate the business. This is where enterprises register their names when establishing DBAs, LLCs, and other business entities.
That said, don’t stop at the state filing office. Perform a Google search with the state plus “your business name” and browse through the top results. You never know the goldmine of additional information you could discover. For example, if you intend to register “Magic Marketing LLC” in the state of Florida, search Google for “Florida + Magic Marketing”.
The more thorough you are with your state-level business name search, the more confident you will be using any prospective business name, knowing that it hasn’t been registered or trademarked by another entity.
- Search the United States:
Once you are done with your state-level name search, it’s time to take things up a notch to the national level. The USPTO (The United States Patent and Trademark Office) is the go-to resource for searching and confirming that your desired business name has not already been trademarked. The USPTO hosts a comprehensive database of all registered trademarks across all 50 states of the United States.
As stated earlier, even if you don’t plan to trademark your business name from the start, it’s a good idea to run the name through the USPTO still to ensure you don’t infringe on anybody’s trademark. A quick business name lookup on the USPTO website could save you from legal headaches in the future.
While the USPTO is the key resource for running a comprehensive name check, don’t forget to check business directories, social media platforms, and good old Google for your prospective brand name. Even if a particular name has not been trademarked, you might be surprised to discover another entity using a very similar name or brand identity. In that case, you should consider tweaking the name to avoid confusion in the marketplace.
- Worldwide Search:
So, your desired business name has yet to be registered by another entity within the state or states you plan to operate within. Even better, not a single other brand in the entire United States holds a trademark for the name. Magnificent! You are on to something great with a unique business name to call your own
But before you pop the wine bottles in celebration, if you intend to do business internationally in the future, you need to run a worldwide name check to be sure that you’re in the clear. One resourceful tool to run an international name check is our free Trademark Checker tool.
Even if you’re not planning on operating your business internationally, it’s still a good idea to do a quick global check. You never know where your business might take you in the distant future!
- Thorough Web Search
Trademarking is just one piece of the puzzle, though, when conducting a worldwide search for a business name. While a company on a distant continent may not have formally registered your desired name as a trademark, they might be operating with it as a brand name. A quick internet search is one easy way to find instances of this situation.
Just as we did with the state-level search, run different country names or regions plus “your business name.” Going back to our earlier example, search Google or other popular search engines with terms like “UK + Magic Marketing,” “Canada + Magic Marketing,” etc. If any company is operating under “Magic Marketing” in the UK, Canada, or any other searched country, you’ll see hints in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages).
Lastly, don’t forget to factor in your online presence. Secure a matching domain name for your brand as soon as possible. You can use a WHOIS lookup tool to find out if a domain name is registered or not, and who owns it.
Checking if a business name is taken is about being creative and thorough so check out industry-specific databases, trademark registries, and business directories. You never know what you might discover.
And always remember that even if your desired name is taken at the state, national, or global level, you still have options. With a bit of creativity and persistence, you will find a unique, ideal, and available name for your business.
When Can I Use a Trademarked Name for My Business?
Using a trademarked business name isn’t advisable due to potential legal issues and other regulatory problems. However, there are specific situations where it’s permissible to go ahead and use one. Here are some of those standout scenarios.
- When you seek and receive legal consent from (or have a formal agreement with) the holder of the trademarked name you intend to use.
- If your business operates in a different industry from that of the company that has already trademarked the name you want to use, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s trademark classification system.
- If your services, products, target market, branding, and business model are distinct from those of the business holding the registered trademark you intend to use.
- If the other business no longer commercially uses the trademarked entity.
- If you make significant modifications to the trademarked name such that there’s no possibility of customers confusing your business with that of the other entity.
Suppose your business meets the different criteria mentioned above. In that case, you can use a trademarked name with a reduced risk of legal suits or other problems arising from trademark infringement. It’s a good idea to consult your attorney before attempting to register a trademarked name for your business.
How Do I Make Sure No One Takes My Business Name?
If you have followed the steps in this article, you should have a future-proofed, unique name for your business. You’ve checked within the state, nationally, and globally to confirm that your desired name is available to register as a business name and trademark, and you’re ready to introduce your big idea to the world.
This brings us to the next big step: ensuring that your perfect name doesn’t get snatched by someone else. The good news is that there are practical steps you can take to safeguard any brand name you’ve done due diligence on and make it exclusively yours.
Register Your Name With the State:
This is the critical first step to take. You must register your desired name with your state’s filing office if you plan to operate an LLC or use a DBA. Once you have registered your business name or Doing Business As name with the state, you’ve officially claimed them within your state.
- Trademark the Name with the USPTO:
If you plan to protect your chosen business name beyond the states you have registered it with, trademarking the brand with the United States Patent and Trademark Office is the next logical step.
Trademarking is a legal instrument that gives you exclusive rights to use your business name and its assets such as logo and slogan in connection with your products or services. Filing for a trademark with the USPTO can be time-consuming, but the legal protection it provides your business is worth the effort.
- Secure Your Domain and Social Media Handles:
Every new brand needs a website and social media presence so registering a matching domain name and opening placeholder social media accounts for your business as soon as possible is a smart move.
This will not only freeze your web presence across multiple channels for when you need to leverage them, but it will also protect your brand from attacks by cyber-squatters and hackers.
- Track Your Business Name:
Name and domain monitoring services track new company formations, name changes, and variations related to your company name. With these services, you can keep a watchful eye on your business’s name and reputation without dedicating hours to the task.
Protecting your business name is all about being proactive. The more steps you take upfront to stake your claim and assert your ownership, the less likely a third party is to infringe on your name or trademark rights.
Wrapping Up
Launching a new business is exciting, but picking a truly unique business name can be challenging. It’s a challenge you have to meet, however, as there are countless advantages to finding a truly distinctive name to represent your business.
Apart from the legal implications of using an already registered name, marketing your new venture with an original brand name is easier and more effective. In today’s busy markets, it’s vital to stand out with a name that’s all your own.
Ready to protect your brand? File a trademark for your name or logo with the help of the trademark experts, today.
