TM Express™
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Yes, that's the correct term. To protect a business name within your industry, you would apply for a trademark.
Trademarks can be names of products or services, logos, slogans, packaging and even sounds and smells. In essence, a trademark can be almost anything that is used to identify a particular product or service. Registering a trademark grants the owner exclusive rights to the mark within the specified industry.
To register a trademark, that's done either through your Secretary of State for a State trademark or the US Patent & Trademark Office for a Federal trademark.
If you are only conducting business in one state, then a State trademark is most appropriate. If you conduct (OR are planning to conduct) business in at least 2 states OR between the US & any other country, you can file for a Federal trademark.
Prior to investing your time, money & effort into a name, it is strongly advised that comprehensive research be conducted to ensure that the name you're interested in is truly available.
This entails searching the pending & registered Federal and State trademark files as well as the US National Common-Law files. Then, if clear, you can decide if you would like to file for a Federal or a State trademark.
I listed some links where you can do some preliminary name checking. However, please be aware that this is merely scratching the surface of what's out there. Only comprehensive research will tell you if the name is truly available. But, these links are free & a great place to start, so I'd try them out first.
There are other sites that offer free searching capabilities in conjunction with their commercial services, so I'm not able to post those links due to the Yahoo! TOS. You'll also want to check domain names & yellow pages, so simply do a search for "free domain name search" and "national yellowpages" and the appropriate links will pop up.
As far as the domain is concerned, there a number of sites that offer domain name registration. I'd suggest doing some research on different companies. You'll want to decide if you want the domain registered, hosting, email addresses, etc. Once you do a compare & contrast based on your needs, it'll be easier to pick a domain registration company.
Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures! |
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