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Updated about 7 years ago on . Most recent reply
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- Real Estate Broker
- Cody, WY
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Legal question concerning LLC name
I am preparing to set up another LLC. I came up with a name based on a Bible verse that has to do with financial wisdom. I searched my state and the name is available. However, I did a Google search and discovered the name is used by a major corporation. The name isn't something obvious like "Nike" or "Microsoft" so nobody would necessarily tie the name to the corporation but I don't want to get in trouble.
Do I need to check to see if the name is copyrighted?
- Nathan Gesner
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- Cody, WY
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It has the "®" symbol but I didn't understand who they were registered with. I've now learned that it means the trademark is registered with the US Trademark Office and it applies across all states. Easy enough.
I went to the United States Patent and Trademark Office site and searched their database. Sure enough, the name is trademarked.
I dug deeper and read this: "Note that the identical mark could be registered to different parties if the goods and/or services are in no way related, e.g., for computers and soft drinks." My purpose will be for real estate investments. Their purpose is to provide grant money for start-ups in the food service industry. Except for the name, there's nothing in my business that would be confused for theirs, particularly if I'm just using it to hold property.
- Nathan Gesner
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