When thinking of names and brands, most entrepreneurs focus on the domain name. You know that if you can't get your hands on the domain name you want, it's tough to establish a business under that name.
Your brand is your identity, though; it's wise to do more and make sure that you own it and have a right against anyone else who might also care to use that brand.
Unfortunately, owning a domain name doesn’t mean that you own the name. There are a number of ways in which you can own a domain name and still not have the right to start a business under that name.
Here are some examples:
1) Big companies have lots of brands, and don’t necessarily own the domains for all of them
Many companies have products and services that they have developed that they don’t feel the need to register the domain for. That’s probably a mistake from their perspective, but it’s also problematic if you are operating under the assumption that there’s no one out there who has already trademarked your domain name. Take the time to check that no one has obtained a trademark on your domain or on your brand. Google your proposed brand. Go past the first page to the second, third, fourth, and fifth to make sure that no one else is using your proposed brand in any capacity.
2) Misspellings and different spellings
Perhaps you own the domain name startlywerx.com, but if there’s a company out there that owns a trademark on startlyworks or startlywerqs, you probably won’t be able to own that brand, at least not if you’re in the same industry. There are services out there that check all misspellings and alternative spellings for you. It’s worth your time to look into them before you invest too much into a brand.
3) Similar Name, Same Industry
Los Angeles-based Bell Computers is a render farm solutions company headquartered out of Los Angeles. When they went to register their proposed trademark Bell Computers, Dell Computers objected, saying that there was a likelihood of confusion by customers who saw Bell Computers and thought they were associated with Dell Computers. Dell won on their objection, which meant that Bell Computers had to change its brand to Bell Technologies DBA Bell Computers.
Basically, if an idiot in a rush at a store looks at your brand and might confuse it with someone else's already established brand, you might not have the right to use that brand.
Branding and marketing are complicated processes. If you want to build your business on a solid foundation and have confidence that you have a right to operate under the brands you've chosen, a proper first step is trademark registration with the US Patent and Trademark Organization.
I will do another post next week on how to get that done.