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Should I trademark my website name?

Small Business Advice: Is it legal and acceptable to work as self-employed and sign all contracts with my name, but represent myself initially for the clients as a studio with name XYZ having trademark XYZ and website xyz.xy?

  • Is it legal and acceptable to make business in the following way? 1. I will work as self-employed from home, and sign all contracts with my name. 2. But at the same time I will create website xyz.xy, register trademark XYZ, and write on website that it is a  "Design studio XYZ". (Please, note that I use the word "studio", instead of the word "company".) 3. On the page "About" I write that I work mainly alone, but I can hire additional people for complex projects. Why all this is required? 1. I don't want to enter all bureaucracy and expenses related to having LLC. 2. I don't want to use my personal name as a trademark for the business. 3. In the future I really can extend my activity, register LLC and hire permanent employees. But I want to establish the trademark on the market right now, while I'm still working as a self-employed freelancer. Business will include works for customer from many countries of the world including US/EU/AU/CA etc. I assume all this may be considered illegal in some countries. Can you confirm this?

  • Answer:

    I'm going to assume that you are in the United States. That's a pretty big assumption, since most Quora users aren't. There is no conflict between entering into contracts under your personal name, regardless of how your business is trademarked. You must register as either a sole-owner business or partnership if you want your business insurance to cover any contracts you enter into on behalf of the business. You can also enter into contracts under your business's name, of course, signing your name and position with the business when it comes to the signature portion of the contract. Ultimately, to register your trademark, you really need to have a lawyer. You can ask him more details about best practices for entering into contracts when you discuss the trademark registration. Potentially there are specifics that might be unique to your situation that affect the exact answer for you. That's why you need a lawyer. (And you should have a lawyer overlook your standard contracts, while you are at it...)

Todd Gardiner at Quora Visit the source

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It really depends on the country where you are.  If you are in the US, it would almost certainly be legal for you to do business as a sole owner of a business that doesn't use your name, as long as you complied with your state's laws regarding filing for a "fictitious business name" or "doing business as".  Of course, you would also need to comply with your state/county/city laws regarding things like business licenses. taxes, and so on. Once you start using a name in commerce, you can proceed to register a trademark in that name (assuming that your use isn't infringing on some prior right to the name). Without knowing where you are, it would be impossible to say what your

Anonymous

In California you may do business under a fictitious business name but you will need to have a business license from your county having applied for, met the publishing requirements and been granted your fictitious name which is a routine process. your contracts and your signature would read as follows: Elvis Presley dba Acme Design Studio. There is no legal difference between referring to your enterprise as a company, a studio, or an avocado (It just doesn't matter).  A fictitious name does not afford you much trademark protection, especially outside the county where you registered it. Thus, if you want to protect the name you should consider filing for a trademark with the USPTO.  Good luck, Peter. (This is not intended or offer as legal advice)

Peter Stanwyck

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