Business Name, Domain, and Trademark

Choosing a Small Business Name & Domain

-The right name can make your small business the talk of the townWhat do you want your name to communicate? The more your name communicates the less effort you

will need to explain it. Consider the following keys when choosing a name for your business.

 Visual Memory—Choose a name that your customer can visualize and relate.

 Simple—Simple to spell and simple to read.

 Positive Connotation—key words that bring a feeling of trust e.g. “Security, Deseret or

Affordable”

Domain—is your identification string that defines a realm authority in the internet. Do a search in

www.register.com; http://www.godaddy.com/ or any Domain Name System (DNS). Consider the

following Do’s and Don’ts.

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Easily accessible.

Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name.

Register yourself as the owner. It’s just like a property.

Remember to renew your domain name.

Don’t use dashes, abbreviations or numbers.

Don’t waste money on extensions other than .com. For most small businesses this is not

needed. It becomes important when protecting a trademark or when patenting

something.

 Don’t buy a domain without checking into its past. (Too similar to another company’s

trademark.)

Trademark

Create, update or renew a Trademark or Service Mark—the exclusive right to use a brand, part of a

brand or service. Others are prohibited from using your brand without permission—so are you. You

would not want to be involved in a legal trademark dispute. This may bankrupt you, as you are getting

ready to ship your first product orders. The trademark process may be difficult and complicated;

therefore, you should consider hiring a trademark attorney. Here are a few guidelines to get you

started:

 See if the name is available: https://secure.utah.gov/bes/action

 Create an Account with Utah.gov services at https://secure.utah.gov/trademark/index.html

 Do a search nationwide with United States Patent...