When I help clients form a company, they often ask about selecting the company name. But what they are really asking about is the brand. It’s an important question. A brand is the customer-facing identity of the business. Getting down to it, a brand is what your prospect thinks of when he or she hears your brand name. It’s everything the public thinks it knows about your offering. A brand is the name given to a product or service from a specific source. Used in this sense, “brand” is similar to the current meaning of the word “trademark.” A company name need not be identical to its brand name. For example, Pizza Hut is owned by Yum! Brands, Inc. Tide detergent is owned by Proctor and Gamble.
If you are selecting a company name in Pennsylvania, the rules are not complex. Business names are to be unique, meaning you cannot call your business a name that can be mistaken for the name of another business operating in Pennsylvania. For example, Red Robin, Incorporated, Red-Robin Co., The Red Robin LLC, or A Red-Robin-Company cannot be said to be different business entities. Some words have certain restrictions as Pennsylvania business names, depending on the nature of the business. They include words like “bank,” ‘‘university,” ‘‘seminary,” ‘‘certified public accountant,” ‘‘architect,” ‘‘architecture,” ‘‘engineer,” ‘‘surveyor,” ‘‘‘pharmacist,” ‘‘drug store,” ‘‘insurance,” ‘‘title” ‘‘mutual,” and “electricity or gas utilities.”
Also, the name of your Pennsylvania business cannot suggest links to any entity or agency of the federal or state government.
However, even if your desired Pennsylvania business name may be available, it could be subject to an existing trademark registration. You put in the hard work to build up your company’s brand for months or years, and then you receive a cease and desist letter from a lawyer, informing you that your company’s brand is confusingly similar to a registered trademark. A trademark for the same or similar goods or services must not be confusingly similar in sight, sound, or commercial impression.
Be sure to consult a trademark lawyer when deciding on your company’s brand for its product or service. GallardLaw can help.