The Role and Process of Business Name Reservation
Name reservation is a critical step for any business entity. It creates a unique identity for the business and furthermore prevents intellectual property disputes. Furthermore, an available name reserves the respective rights to the owner and grants protection even if the process of registering the business is incomplete. The name reservation process is often managed by the official governing body or department of the particular state.
Name reservation procedures may vary from state to state but the process generally starts with an application to the office of the secretary of state. The application must be signed off by the business owner. The request must include basic business information such as the name of the business, its intended purpose and the type of business structure it is going to use. The department of state will review the application and decide whether the name is valid or not.
Legal Implications and Benefits of Name Reservation
Name reservation ensures that the desired name for the business does not overlap to another existing entity or business. This prevents potential legal tangles due to the same or similar name or disputes due to misleading consumers. Furthermore, the owner reserves the rights to their name or logo and their intellectual property is safe from any infringement.
A name reservation also grants exclusive rights to the name of a product or service even before it is officially registered. This can help in preventing other competitors from illegally using the name to promote their own similar products or services.
Situations Where Name Reservation is Recommended
Name reservation is mainly recommended for businesses that are not related to one another. This is most common in industries that involve competing products or services and may overlap with other businesses. Furthermore, it is also beneficial for business entities that already have an existing business but require additional protection from competitors to prevent future intellectual property conflicts.
It is also important to take name reservations into consideration when starting a business in multiple states since registering a name in one state does not protect the same from being used in another.
