Protecting a Business Name

[Jeremy Carlson]

Hello BP community! 

I have 2 STRs and am working on my direct booking strategy. Before it can be finalized, we need to have a business name and brand. We have a name we would like to use for our group of rentals, but, I'm wondering what I need to do to protect the name so it can't be used by someone else. Currently, we do not have them in an LLC and have hedged liability coverage with an umbrella policy, and the company does not have a EIN.

In order to protect the name, do I need to trademark the name, put it into an LLC, or some other way?

I was hoping to avoid using an LLC until next year at some point as I do not think I need for liability coverage and with the fees and other rules I would have to follow I think I would rather wait. Also, because of the loan strategies we used I feel it's better to wait at least 12 months for the original loan to season before transferring it to LLC.

Thank you!