Company Naming Tip #33

Every entrepreneur should know the difference between a trade name and a trademarked company name, do you?

Here’s the quick explanation:

Simply put, you can think of a “trade name” as a “DBA” or “Doing Business As.”  This means, this Trade Name does not have to be your “actual” business.  However, it can be.

According to the Small Business Administration, a trade name doesn’t “afford any brand name protection or provide you with unlimited rights for the use of that name.”

That can all be changed if you decide register that trade name with the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office, and you should).

And, that that gets us to a trademark.  A trademark is completely protective and it can even be expanded out into your logo.  Moreover, you can add a tagline and even symbols to your trademark.

The SBA has a great article on the difference and that can be found at this link.  We think you’ll find this article informative and what you need to know when developing a great company name.

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