Is someone using this business name already?

[anthonyrd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

I have a name that I want to use for a new (future) company. How do I tell if someone is already using this name somewhere in the US? Besides checking with the USPTO to see if it has been trademarked, which many business names have not been, how can I tell that it isn't being used in one of the 50 states without checking with each individual state? I don't want to trademark the name of a company that somebody else is using, even though they haven't trademarked it. If I had to check with each state, is anyone aware of any type of directory that might make this easier to search? I've been told that I can register it in NY (ie: LLC), if no one else is using it, and then do a federal TM on it. However, if someone in another state can show that they were using the name before I trademarked it, then they would have a good case to have my TM revoked, as an attorney for the USPTO says it will do, even though they "don't like to." But moreover, I don't want to use a company name that is already being used by someone else in the US.

Thanks in advance,
Anthony.

 

[divgradcurl]

There isn't any simple way. You need to check the USPTO database, and then the trademark and business databases of each state, if you want to be sure that nobody, anywhere, is using the name. And even that might not be sufficient, as there may be people using the name without either a trademark or business license (such as a web-based business) -- so search engines will come in handy there. There is no free central aggregator of such information. There may be paid services that aggregate much (or all) of this information.