Legal Name

A corporation does not have to register a fictitious name because it already as a legal name. A corporation does have to register a fictitious name if it operates under a name other than its legal name. When filing a corporate name, you must use the words "incorporated," "corporation," or their abbreviations. If the corporate name does not contain one of these words or their abbreviations, it will be rejected by the Secretary of State. To check on a name, you may call the corporate name information number in Sacramento. You can also check their website at www.ss.ca.gov/.

If the name you pick is taken by another company, you may be able to change it slightly and have it accepted. However, even if this is approved by the Secretary of State, you might still get sued by the other company if your business is close to theirs or there is a likelihood of consumer confusion.

Also, do not have anything printed until your corporate papers are returned to you. Sometimes a name is approved over the phone, but rejected when submitted. Once you have chosen a corporate name and know it is available, you should immediately register the name.

Domain Name

A rule has developed that if a company has a trademark for a name, that company could stop someone else from using it as a domain name for other purposes, if the other person does not have a trademark. You cannot get a trademark merely using a domain name. Trademarks are granted for the use of a name in commerce. Once you have a valid trademark, you will be safe using if for your domain name.

Trademark

You cannot obtain a trademark for the name of your business, but you can trademark the name you use on your goods and services. As your business builds goodwill, its name will become more valuable and you will want to protect it from others who may wish to copy it. To protect a name used to describe your goods or services, you can register it as a trademark (for goods) or a service mark (for services) with either the Secretary of State of the state of California, or with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.