If you are opening a business in the USA, it is important to register your company name as soon as possible. This process can be done quickly online through the US government’s internet website.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency that grants patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property rights in the United States. The USPTO issues more than 200,000 utility patents each year—including many designs for products to be manufactured domestically or abroad—and about 150,000 trademarks annually for use on all types of goods and services. For example, your company name may not have been registered with the USPTO until now: You'll need to pay a filing fee to obtain an official "assignment date" on your trademark application.
What is the Company Name?
The name of the company is what you want to register as. It's usually a combination of words that describe what your business does, but it can also be an acronym (e.g., "ABC").
The name of the business is often used in conjunction with the name of your product or service and can give users more information about what they're looking at when they visit your website or search for you on Google, Bing, etc.
You may choose to use one word for both (like “Acme”), or you may have multiple names that are spelled differently but have similar meanings (like Acme Awning).
Find a company name.
You can't register a company name if it's the same as an existing trademark. If you want to use another word or phrase, make sure that it doesn't infringe on someone else's trademarked brand.
In addition, your new business name must not be offensive or confusing in any way. For example, if you're creating a new business based on "Drink the Water," that might not fly with regulators because drinking water is already associated with water filters and purifiers (and maybe even with homeopathic remedies). And please don't choose names like "Sleepy Time Toy Co."—it'd be difficult for consumers to tell what kind of products they're supposed to be buying when there are so many other similar names out there!
Make sure the company name is available.
Make sure that the name is available. The first step in registering a company name is to make sure that it isn’t already taken by another entity, or too similar to an existing company. If you do find yourself with a similar-sounding name, there are ways around this—you can buy out the rights to your competitor's brand (which comes with its own costs), or use keywords such as “competition” or “rivalry" in an attempt to make yours sound more unique.
You should also check with your state's laws regarding trademarks before buying into something like "Google Inc." since they often include restrictions on where companies can register their trademarks; for example, some states won't allow registration if there's already another company using exactly those same letters and/or numbers somewhere else on Earth!
Choose an entity type.
You can choose from the following entity types:
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Sole Proprietorship: This is the simplest type of business you can form, but it does not offer any benefits other than the ability to operate your business without having to pay corporate taxes or file annual reports with state authorities. If you plan on running your business as a sole proprietor, this section will help explain how to register as one in order to obtain an LLC or corporation name registration number.
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Partnership: A partnership is an agreement between two or more people who agree that they will share profits and losses equally among themselves (and their partners). The partners are responsible for paying their own tax obligations according to their individual tax rates; however, they may also be able to claim deductions based on contributions made by others within their group until such time as all liabilities have been paid off completely - at which point profits should start being distributed back into each individual's bank account (your partner's specifically). Partnerships are often formed when investors need help managing day-to-day operations while still being able provide some resources needed for growth purposes later down road."
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Database Business Search
If you’re looking for a business name, you can use the database of active business names. This is a searchable database of active business names and their owners. Search results will show the current owner information, address and phone number. You can also see if the company name is available.
The database will help you find companies that are currently using your desired domain name as their primary address or email address (or both).
Business Entity Search
After you've chosen a company name, it's time to register that new domain name. This can be done through the following steps:
· Find a business entity search tool online or in your local library. If you don't have access to one of these places, contact them directly and ask if they offer free assistance with this process; if so, go ahead and use their services!
· Enter your intended company name into the search engine (be sure not to include any personal information), then click "Search." You'll see results for all businesses with that particular name—if there are any liens registered against yours yet, make sure not to select them before continuing on with registration procedures below.*
Professional & Vocational Licensing Search
The next step is to search for a business license. This is the easiest way to get your company name on file with state and local authorities, but it’s also more complicated than other forms of registration.
To find one in your area:
· Go to the Secretary of State website (or contact their office directly). They have listings for all states and cities across the country, so you can find yours easily!
· Locate “Listings by Name” at the top right corner of their page; then click on “Business Licenses/Certificates” under Districts & Regions at left side below state name (e.g., click here if you live in California). You may need to scroll down just a little bit before finding what you want—and don't worry if there's more than one listing since each type has its own separate requirements; we'll cover those later when talking about how someone would actually use these websites themselves instead.)
Trademark Status & Document Retrieval System (TSDR) Search
To start searching for trademarks, you can:
· Go to the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval System (TSDR) Search page. This will take you to a special website that allows users to search for registered or abandoned trademarks. The results include information about each trademark, including its status and whether it's available or not. You'll also see what type of goods or services are associated with each trademarked name right there on the page!
· Check out our list of top 10 most searched-for names in 2018 here!
Meeting Information Lookup System (MILS) Search
MILS is a free service that allows you to search for information about any business in the United States. It's used by businesses and individuals alike, but it's especially useful when trying to find out if your name is available or not.
MILS can be accessed at http://www.businessmds.com/mils/. You'll need your business or personal email address and password in order to login (which we'll explain later). Once logged in, click "Search" at the top of the page and type in an exact phrase of what you're looking for—this will help narrow down results faster than just browsing through them all individually!
Fictitious Names Search
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Fictitious Names Search
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A fictitious name is a name other than your own legal name. You can use it when you are doing business under a different name, such as:
· Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships
· Corporations, Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
Reserve or abandon a business or corporate name online.
Once you've decided on a business name, go to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's website and click on "Register a Trademark." You'll be asked to enter your contact information, as well as any other information that might be required for registration (such as where you live). The system will then check whether there are any businesses already using this name in the United States—this can take up to three weeks!
Once it's been approved by USPTO officials and entered into their database, it may take anywhere from six months (if no one else has come forward) or two years (if someone else has registered after yours) before you receive confirmation that they've received your application; meanwhile, if someone else files against your trademark before its registration date arrives at USPTO headquarters then there's still hope because they must wait until after this period before filing anything against them themselves--so keep checking back regularly over those two years!
Registering a company name can be done quickly.
Registering a company name can be done quickly, easily and inexpensively. It's also relatively simple to do online.
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you understand how to legally register a company name in the US.