Business name already taken... in Canada

[cvicisso]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

A friend and I are starting up a [small] business and are in the name-choosing stage. We settled on one that seemed absolutely perfect, but a Google search revealed that it is being used in Canada. Can we still use it? If not, could we modify ours a bit to differentiate the two... how much is enough, etc? Note: their's in an Inc, ours will be an LLC.

Thanks in advance!

 

[divgradcurl]

What is the name of your state? Virginia

A friend and I are starting up a [small] business and are in the name-choosing stage. We settled on one that seemed absolutely perfect, but a Google search revealed that it is being used in Canada. Can we still use it? If not, could we modify ours a bit to differentiate the two... how much is enough, etc? Note: their's in an Inc, ours will be an LLC.

Thanks in advance!

Does the Canadian company do business in the U.S.? Does the company have a registered (in the U.S.) trademark?