Same Name as Another Company?

[stidrvr]

Just as the title states. What happens when two companies have the same name? One of the names that I thought of is exactly the same as a companies in Ohio. Is this ok or should I start thinking about using different words?

[grandview (2006)]

If your in different states it's ok I have Grandviews all over the country. But in NY I'm the only one that can have the official name Grandview Landscaping and Snowplowing Inc.

[stidrvr]

Oh, ok. I assume that when I register with the state, if there's a problem, that's when I'll find out about it.

[grandview (2006)]

If your the first one to register it it's yours. But some guys matbe using the same name for yrs and never registered it

[THC]

Can I start a biz named Just Mow It up in Canada? I'm not sure how that works.

[stidrvr]

I'm not sure how things work in Canada, but in the US different states have different setsof guidlines. You can name your buisness what ever you want, but to be legal you'll have to register in your state or providence.

One of the funniest thing I've read here at LS is to regisiter the name of someone who is illegally running a buisness and then send him a siest and disist letter. I still chuckle about that one

[tyler_mott85]

In Kansas you do not need to register your name unless your are a Corporation and you can if you are a partnership or LLC. Even if your business name is pronounced the same as another company's but is spelled differently you are in the clear here.

For example.

Yard Works & Yard Worx are considered two different companies.

Elite Lawn and Landscape and Elite Lawn and Garden would be two different companies as well.

You may try to tweak your name a little to aid in any future "attempted" suits.

[stidrvr]

Yeah, that's what I plan on doing is registering as an LLC.

[Glenn Lawn Care]

in new york the is a glenn lawn care, but thats how many miles away. if there not in your state you should be fine.

[Precedence]

Trademark laws in the US and Canada are very similar, trademarks are automatically given to companies that use a name or symbol in a given regional location and a regional location can be as small as a specific county. So there can be many "Someguy Lawn Care" all over the country. However if an owner goes the extra step of registering the name "Someguy Lawn Care" with the federal Patent and Trademark Office then the name "Someguy Lawn Care" can only be used by that one owner in the whole nation. The exemption to this is limited, however, to the extent that the mark is already being used by others within a specific geographic area. If that is the case, then the prior user of the mark retains the right to use that mark within that geographic area; the party registering the mark gets the right to use it everywhere else. So an already existing "Someguy Lawn Care" in Chicago could still use it there but no new "Someguy Lawn Care" could be started anywhere else since the person who registered it has exclusive rights to use it everywhere else.

:usflag:US Trademark Law:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm#1

:canadaflag:Canada Trademark Law:
http://www.trytel.com/~pbkerr/trademark.html

[Precedence]

Can I start a biz named Just Mow It up in Canada? I'm not sure how that works.

Yes, unless "Just Mow It" has an international trademark.

It happened around here (I'm in a border town) that a huge construction company in the US called "Father and Son" did tons of TV and other advertising that spilled over the border to us and since they didn't have an international trademark another construction company started up over here using the "Father and Son" name and so capitalized on the American companies expensive advertising campaign.

[THC]

Yes, unless "Just Mow It" has an international trademark.

It happened around here (I'm in a border town) that a huge construction company in the US called "Father and Son" did tons of TV and other advertising that spilled over the border to us and since they didn't have an international trademark another construction company started up over here using the "Father and Son" name and so capitalized on the American companies expensive advertising campaign.

Yeah, my brother in law was sued by Super Value food store because he named his co. super value and did tons of advertising (and still does) but he won because the food store is actually called The Real Canadian Super Store or something like that.

You see, stores like Sears and Eatons and the Bay sell their name to carpet cleaning companys so he just took the name of Super Value lol.

[hsieh]

so lets say i named my company Yard Dogs and i get a call from somebody who says they have that name trademarked. if i change the name to Jim's Yard Dogs am i safe from being sued?

[Precedence]

so lets say i named my company Yard Dogs and i get a call from somebody who says they have that name trademarked. if i change the name to Jim's Yard Dogs am i safe from being sued?

Basically no, it's like if i started selling shoes called "Smith's Nike" Nike would sue the crap out of me, and justifiably so.

[hsieh]

what if nike only sold shoes in new york state and you lived in nebraska and named your company smith's nike?

[Precedence]

Nike has a national trademark (and an international trademark), so no one else can use it anywhere. If Yard Dog's isn't registered nationally and they only work in say Chicago then that's the only place they have exclusive to the name so you could open Yard Dog's in New York with no problems, however if they are registered nationally and you try to open a Jim's Yard Dog's anywhere you can be sued because it is substantially similar to Yard Dog.

Read the article i already posted in this thread for a full explanation:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm#1

[hsieh]

where can i find if it is national? us trademark.gov?

[hsieh]

ok i searched the us trademarks and my name is taken. so even though there is not LLC in my state with that name i can't use it because somebody has it nationally trademarked?

[Precedence]

ok i searched the us trademarks and my name is taken. so even though there is not LLC in my state with that name i can't use it because somebody has it nationally trademarked?

Exactly, no one else can now use it.

[sunray]

We just changed the name of our company, we did the LLC thing and were told another company in the state had the same name.
It was a little spendy but it's just the ups and downs you run into running your own business.
We came up with an even better name the second time around, so there's always a bright side, you just have too look for it sometimes.

[Midstate Lawncare]

Trademark laws in the US and Canada are very similar, trademarks are automatically given to companies that use a name or symbol in a given regional location and a regional location can be as small as a specific county. So there can be many "Someguy Lawn Care" all over the country. However if an owner goes the extra step of registering the name "Someguy Lawn Care" with the federal Patent and Trademark Office then the name "Someguy Lawn Care" can only be used by that one owner in the whole nation. The exemption to this is limited, however, to the extent that the mark is already being used by others within a specific geographic area. If that is the case, then the prior user of the mark retains the right to use that mark within that geographic area; the party registering the mark gets the right to use it everywhere else. So an already existing "Someguy Lawn Care" in Chicago could still use it there but no new "Someguy Lawn Care" could be started anywhere else since the person who registered it has exclusive rights to use it everywhere else.

:usflag:US Trademark Law:
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/metaschool/fisher/domain/tm.htm#1

:canadaflag:Canada Trademark Law:
http://www.trytel.com/~pbkerr/trademark.html

Ok, now we have lawyers mowing lawns part time?... oh... you're Canadien. That explains it... I mean that you are so well educated of course. Our educational system is not the cream or the crop these days. lol:canadaflag:

[pclawncare]

In Kansas you do not need to register your name unless your are a Corporation and you can if you are a partnership or LLC. Even if your business name is pronounced the same as another company's but is spelled differently you are in the clear here.

For example.

Yard Works & Yard Worx are considered two different companies.

Elite Lawn and Landscape and Elite Lawn and Garden would be two different companies as well.

You may try to tweak your name a little to aid in any future "attempted" suits.

You will want to check your state laws because it may differ on this. I know for a fact in the state of Oklahoma that a business that is spelled differently but along the same lines similar to what was described will not be allowed. The state recognizes each corporation as a unique individual and therefor each individual corporations must have a completely unique name