I am trying to trademark a name for my in home fitness service. Nothing filed with USPTO. However, there is a racquet club in another state on their website specifically names their exercise/class facility by the name with the (TM) symbol next to it. Does this mean I can't use the name or trademark?

A few hints: First, anybody can put TM next to the name. First step is to see if the TM is real, which you can do right here: http://www.trademarkia.com/ Assuming that the trademark is valid, listen to the other advice her and choose a new name. If for no other reason, it's going to make your SEO about a million times easier. If you want advice on trademarks in general, I always turn to http://www.ivanhoffman.com/, who has a brutally ugly web site filled with well-written advice. What name should you choose? Here is some advice: https://allpurposeanswers.quora.com/Naming-Your-Company-or-Product?srid=yHL&share=1

If your business will only serve people in your state, and the other business that uses the name only uses it in their own state (in other words, neither has "interstate commerce") then it is likely that you can use it. To get a trademark issued you will have to file with your state agency that issues trade marks, likely your state secretary of state. If one or both of you will sell to other states, even over the web, you may have interstate commerce. Federal trademark laws would apply. You would probably want to claim a common law federal trademark or actually file for issuance of a federal trade mark. Most businesses work around this issue by adding something unique to the name they wish to trademark. For example, "Fitness Business of California" rather than "Fitness Business." Or they use a fanciful spelling: "Fitness Busyness" rather than "Fitness Business." These can also help with web domain name issues. I am not a lawyer, and you should see a lawyer for a definitive answer for your situation.

I am trying to trademark a name for my in home fitness service. Nothing filed with USPTO. However, there is a racquet club in another state on their website specifically names their exercise/class facility by the name with the (TM) symbol next to it. Does this mean I can't use the name or trademark? It depends. If they have a trademark and if they choose to defend it, you will be forced to change your name. My suggestion is that you choose a new name that is not trademarked. You don't want to spend significant energy and resources building up a brand only to be stopped by a lawsuit sometime down the road.