How to Find Trading Company Names

When you incorporate a business, you are doing business under a trading company name. This is how you get your business and your trade names recognized. It can be confusing if someone has a name that's too similar to yours, and vice versa, so it's important that you check to be sure that the trading company name you're looking for isn't being used by someone else.

Instructions

1. Check with the United States Patent Office (USPTO). It has a search engine called the Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS) that crawls through all federally registered trading company names. However, this covers only federal registrations, and it isn't required for a trademark to be registered there.

2. Check with other websites that search for corporate trademarks. Your search might include state government sites, Trade Name USA or Corpnet.

3. Try to register your trading company name. If you've done all your research and haven't found a company with a similar name then it may not exist. When you register your name, the courthouse runs a perfunctory records check to be sure that your name is unique. You can also go to the courthouse and request the search before you fill out the paperwork, just to be sure that your trading company name hasn't been taken.

References

• US Patent Office: Trademark Search
• Corp Net: Free Corporate Name Search
• Trade Name USA: Trade Business Name