Trade Name

A trade name is a name used by a business to identify itself in transactions, bank accounts and filings with state government. A trade name can be merely an assumed name under which the business presents itself to the public, as in a "doing business as, or 'd.b.a.'"

All but three states -- Maine, Nevada and Wyoming—require an abbreviation indicating the corporate status of the business in its official corporate name, such as "Inc." or "Corp." Most states also forbid choosing a trade name that implies a purpose different from the actual stated purpose of the company.

A trade name should not be confused with a trademark, which is used to sell a particular good or service.

Federal and state law protect against infringement on a trade name. The elements of trade name infringement typically include:

• establishing ownership of a right to operate a business under a certain name
• establishing that an infringer violated this right by using a similar name

Priority of adoption of the trade name, or priority in filing it, establish the rights to it, depending on the state law.

Federal law, the Lanham Trademark Act (15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.), protects trade names that are used regularly and continuously.

Imaginative or fanciful names receive protection more readily than common names. Generic names may not be entitled to any protection.