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Technology Transfer

Entrepreneur Toolkit - What Are My Trademarks?

Selecting Your Trademarks

When selecting your trademarks of the various kinds discussed below, take the time to consider what marks will be best. The best time to choose a good mark is before you start using it, and definitely before you get a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney telling you to stop using it.

Business/DBA Names

Your first type of trademark is probably the name of your business or the name under which you are doing business. The name of your business and the name under which you do business don't have to be the same; the state in which your business is incorporated, the state(s) in which you have offices, and the federal government will need to know your legal business name, but that can differ from the name over the door or on the website. If your doing business as (DBA) name is different from your official, legal business name, you'll probably want to register your DBA name with your state (trademark division and/or division of corporations) to prevent others from adopting similar business names.

Business/DBA Name on the Product/Service

Some businesses decide to put their business or DBA name on their product or to use it to advertise their services. In some instances, this is the only brand or trademark on the product or services. In other instances, the business or DBA name is placed with one or more additional trademarks on the product or services, such as product-specific trademarks such as product names.

Business/DBA Name Not on the Product/Service

In some instances, your business or DBA name might not be displayed on a product or service as a trademark. Instead, another trademark specific to the product or service (e.g., the product name) is used alone. Usually, to be considered a trademark use, the mark must be displayed in such a way as to distinguish the source of the good or service, so just having your business name listed in the small text somewhere is probably not a trademark use.

When to Formally Protect your Business/DBA Name?

Many people don't know that if you are not using your business and/or DBA name in a trademark sense on your goods or services, it may not be eligible for formal trademark protection by federal registration. Thus, if you want to protect your business or DBA name, you need to make sure to actually use it in a trademark sense, by prominently displaying it on your product packaging or service advertising. If your business name or DBA is a way customers know from where their purchases are originating, then you will consider how best to protect it as a trademark.

Product/Service Names

Your second possible type of trademark is the name(s) you use with your goods and/or services that are not the name of your business/DBA. For example, Apple computers has individual product lines named Mac, iMac, MacBook, iPhone, iPad, etc. Delta Faucets uses several names to describe its style lines. If your company offers more than one product or service, you may use different names to refer to the different products or services, and each of those different names might function as a trademark. Ideally, you will take the same care in selecting product-specific marks to use with your products and/or services as you do selecting your business or DBA name. Also, as you select good product-specific marks you will want to determine how best to protect those marks.

Other Trademarks

In addition to your business or DBA name and any product names, you may also have one or more other trademarks. Such trademarks can include:

  • Logos and pictures
  • The color and style used in your other trademarks
  • Slogans
  • Non-functional product or packaging colors (e.g., pink for home insulation)
  • Animations and short videos
  • Sounds
  • Jingles
  • Non-functional smells and tastes

In many cases, some of these marks are used in conjunction with your name marks for your business and product lines, such as a particular styling of the business name used on the product packaging or website. You should consider ways to distinguish your business and/or products from other businesses and their products using these other forms of marks as well as whether and how to seek protection for these alternate distinguishing marks, just as you do with your business or DBA name and product/service name marks.