Copyrighting/Owing a (Company) Name??
 

Hey everyone, In the next 6 months I should be up and running with my own small DV film company.
I know what I would like to name it but am curious as to how I go about firstly, finding out if the name is already being used by another company, and secondly copyrighting that name so NOBODY else can use it.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

In most states the names of companies are registered with the secratary of state. Most states have a 800 number you can call or try the .gov listings for your state. Many states also have a free excellant package of all the info you need to start up a company. things like tax info, license info and more. Names generally (I'm not a lawyer, I don't give legal advice hint, hint) cannot be copyrighted. Names and logos are trademarks of a company. Trademarks can be registered.

Jeff Donald

trademark
 

you should try search engines before you settle on a name..
or try

http://tess.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=jtbjja.1.1

and search the government database for the name you want to use..
note that trademarks are divided into seperate sectors. Someone
may sell cookies and have the same name as you, as long as no one
is doing DV production under the name you want.

also there still may be poeple out there that havent been listed nor
stated under a search engine, so do your research. Remember that most of
the things you think of have already been taken, try thinking of something off the wall rather than a typical tradmark like "ABC video production" or
"______ designs" .

Its always good to have your lawyer help out when needed. They can easily help out on tradmarking you name and logo. And keep you out of fualty situations.

If you're interested in doing trade outside your state, you should seek to trademark your company's name with the US Patent and Trademark office. Here is the link to the Trademark website:

http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm

You will need to do a search to see if the name is taken. The larger bookstores will have excellent books on trademark law; nolo.com is a good place to check as well.

Applying for a trademark costs roughly $345. You pay that when submitted your application, and it's non-refundable if the Trademark office finds that the name you want is not available. So, do your homework well.

Check out "Patent, Copyright and Trademark" by Nolo Press.

Thanks everyone.
 

I really appreciate all the information, once again this site & it's members come through.
Thanks,
Erik