Hi,

I'm new here. Please forgive me if this question came up in a previous post as I've looked around and may have missed something similar.

I came up with an idea for a business name, but I think I may have messed things up! I liked it so much that I wanted to secure the domain name right away. But before I did that, I searched for it in a DBA database here in Suffolk County, NY. Luckily, there wasn't a match so I paid for 3 variations of the domain name at Go Daddy. I couldn't get the full name, but I had it abbreviated somewhat.

I realize now that I may have been a bit too hasty about it because I had to do it at work where I felt rushed - because I didn't want to get caught! :0 The previous night I was having so many problems registering the names with my old computer that I was utterly frustrated! It was only later that I noticed there were a few other businesses online with the same or similar name. They weren't from NYS or Suffolk county but would that still matter? I only intend to do work locally, not from out of state. I hope I didn't screw things up for myself before I even begin! I love this name and have a whole creative theme for it as well. Could someone please offer any advice or direct me to the proper forum?

Thanks!

Are they offering the same services as you? If they are then yes it might be a problem even if they are from another state. Also the companies who have those businesses named the same, are they trademarked? If they are, yes that could be a problem.

It would be best to either consult a business attorney or just change your name of your business since you haven't even really started. If you consult an attorney and they say that it is fine, you might want to reconsider your name anyway simply because you may have a hard time branding yourself. For example if one of the other businesses sell widgets and they have made a name for themselves doing that, you may have a hard time getting people to distinguish you from the widget seller.

If you really like the name a lot, but want to change it, maybe post it here and your ideas and we can help you brainstorm different ways to make it work. Also, if you have to change your business name and get a different domain name, I believe GoDaddy offers a 5 day refund.

Just a thought

Tracy Collins

I must agree with Tracy. Love the name but if someone else has the same name then, it might become a problem. Especially if it's a trademark. Sometime we must be patient and take our time when researching. Trust me - it happen to me with go daddy. Someone else had the same name but with the ending of .com. So, I had to cancel mine and start from scratch. I know use homestead.com and it only took me a few minutes to search and registered my name - Virtual Express Inc.

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Virtual Express Inc.:daisy:
Ramonita Comas

Thanks for the replies to my post ladies. Here's the deal.

From doing a little research it appears that the .com name I had in mind, is registered to a domain reseller for over $1,000! They also gobbled up the .net, .biz, and .org as well. (although according to godaddy, they are on backorder for $18.99 - which from what I understand, doesn't guarantee you the name after you paid that fee) I did notice that the .com name expires this Sept.

When I registered the name, I abbreviated the third word and that's what became available as .com and .net. When I googled the full name, there is a franchise with a close name as mine. They sell franchises that offer office help and is under an umbrella group from Toronto, whose main function seems to be internet consulting from around the world. My name is not EXACTLY their name as I have an extra word before their's. There is also another variation of the name from a woman in TX. who is a VA but she has the added "virtual" in front of the name which is different than my first word.

Forgive me for being so cryptic (and confusing!) but I read a post on one of the other threads, that suggests not to reveal your idea for a business name until you have secured it as your own. So, at the moment I'm a little confused as what to do next. Since the .com name is registered by a reseller, what if someone buys it much later even though I may have the business name licensed first?? And how can I tell if it has been tradmarked?? Maybe I'm being a little stubborn but I at least want to exhaust all my options before giving up this name.

Thanks for any further advice you may be able to provide me.

Jackie

The only surefire way to protect your business name is to trademark it because if you don't trademark it, in reality anyone can use it as theirs. If you don't trademark it and somebody else starts using it, and you decide to get them to stop using it, it becomes a he said, she said type of deal and it can cause a lot of grief.

Chances are since this person is a reseller, they are not going to let the domain name expire because they are holding it to make a BIG buck off of it.

To find out if it has been trademarked, go here and do a search:

http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?...007:2ouqia.1.1

It's up to you what you want to do with the other companies being similar to yours but one thing you have to remember is if any of those companies do something illegal, harmful to their clients, etc and they get smeared all over the internet or wherever, people will associate your business with theirs simply because it is so similar.

Also, I know you like the name but in all honesty if I created a business name on my own for my business and somebody came along and only removed one word and started using it as their own I would be a little upset. Not to mention the fact that I would have the extra measures I would have to take to make SURE that my business is not mistaken for the other persons.

Just my .02 cents

Tracy Collins

Thanks for the input tcollins. You make some good points and I will certainly take your advice into serious consideration. Just for the record, I came up with the business name on my own without knowing that it existed elsewhere. As you know, when you do a serach for a name and it's unavailable, you usually get a list of available alternatives that gives you more ideas. Then when I discovered that the full domain name was registered to a doiman reseller under .com and .net, I seriously didn't think I was committing any kind of ethical or moral misdeed by abbreviating the word "friday" to fri.com. (Not intentionally anyway.) That's not who I am and I hope I didn't come off presenting myself that way.

I wasn't certain if you were implying that I did this intentionally knowing I was doing something wrong, or if you were just giving giving me the head's up on how another business person may misinterpret my innocent mistake. I just wanted to clear the air about it because I'm new here and didn't want to get started off on the wrong foot! lol! Thanks again for your input.

I think that Tracy may just be saying that the other party may perceive it that way, not that it was in any way intentional on your part. Believe me, I'm in the brainstorming mode for my own name and it's really hard to find something that is totally different from what everyone else has. I read so many VA business names that I'm paranoid that the "great idea" I just came up with is actually a knock-off of something I've heard in my research endeavors and not my very own idea (like I think it is)...lol

Once you find that "perfect" name, though, the research doesn't end there. As I was told (I think by Business-Bytes), it's not a good idea to do a direct GOOGLE search on a name that you LOVE because there are these stingy little monsters out there that will snag up the domain name if you're not careful to resell at a much higher price (kind of like a domain scalper....Uuuugghhhhh, can't stand scalpers! lol). So, I would go to the Trademark site (uspto.gov) like Tracy suggested or there's another one that will check to see if a domain is available, whosit, I think (someone please correct me on this).

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Stephanie
New VA in the research phase :daisy:

I didn't think that was the case but like I said in my post, I was uncertain and thought it would be best for me to clear the air on some things. The irony about my whole situation, is that I am one of those people who is extremely cautious about certain things. While it's good on one hand, you can also get bogged down with research and details that keep you from moving forward.

Wow, after reading your post Stephanie I never realized how incredibly difficult it is to secure a name! Maybe I should get into the domain reseller business instead! ;0 You're right, they are like ticket scalpers. Unfortunately, there's always someone out there to make things more difficult for the average person.

Thank you for the info. I just took a brief glance at the US trademark site. According to some of the info, wouldn't I need a service mark rather than a trademark, since I would be providing a service instead of a product?

Definitions
What is a trademark?

A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods. In short, a trademark is a brand name.


What is a service mark?

A service mark is any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce, to identify and distinguish the services of one provider from services provided by others, and to indicate the source of the services.

I didn't find the price yet for obtaining a mark but if it's VERY expensive, there's no way I can do it now which would mean yet another delay in starting my business.

If you happen to remember the domian checker website Stephanie, please post it here. Thanks!