There is a misconception that registering a business name with the state provides unlimited rights to use the name in connection with your brand. However, a business name ≠ a trademark. Thus, a company that registers a business name alone may not have any rights to prevent another from using the same name in connection with their brand.

Registering a business name with the state merely protects the name from being used by another within that state as the name of their business, however a trademark provides nationwide protection for use of a mark in connection with goods or services. While a trademark can also be obtained without registration under the common law where it has developed distinctiveness as a source identifier for the brand to which it is related, going this route is a lot riskier than filing the mark at the outset where possible.

A business owner who invests a lot of time and effort into building and promoting their brand but fails to seek trademark protection could be “slapped” with a cease and desist letter by a brand owner who sought protection for the mark. This may result in the business owner having to put extra time and money into rebranding which could have been spared if they did a search to ensure that the mark was available for use and, if so, thereafter sought trademark protection.

So it is important when building a brand to keep in mind that a trademark  ≠ a business name and will not be afforded protection as such.