business-registration, namingFor example, I want to call my startup “Foo”. A company in another state is called “Foo Inc”, and runs a small, local business.
Will this be a problem?
Legally, usually not. Marketing-wise, it can be.
The way company names usually work is that there are official registries in which your company name should be unique. The exact administrative subdivision at which the registry exists depends on the country. In the UK it’s the Companies House at the county-level; in France it would be the “Chambre de Commerce” at the Département level. I’m not too sure what the subdivision level is in the US, but either of State- or county- is a pretty safe bet.
Whichever it is, as long as your name is unique in the registry you’re fine legally; at least on paper.
In practice, there may be issues owing to trademarks. Think Apple Corps vs Apple Computer. The line here is usually drawn where it’s reasonably obvious that the two companies are distinct (as in logo, brand, etc.) and not operating in the same field. Well-knownness also counts. Where the line gets drawn exactly depends on the jurisdiction; some permit more trolling than others. For instance, here’s Apple getting trolled in China by a leather goods manufacturer selling “iPhone” phone cases.
Note in passing that not all trademarks are registered, or indeed defended.
Marketing-wise it’s of course better to have a reasonably unique name, for much the same reason that being named John Smith makes you un-googleable unless you’re the world’s most famous John Smith. (When you’re not, you certainly don’t want the latter to have a bad online reputation.)
For a small local shop, don’t fuss too much about it: so long as a) your activities and branding don’t introduce confusions and b) your clients can google you without running into horrendous Yelp reviews that don’t relate to you, you should be fine.
Definitely a company name should be unique. Not just in the states but globally. There are two main reasons how this will help. First is, Brand growth. Eventually your company will grow and will be known, having spent some good amount in branding and marketing, would you like to have the name of your company being shared?? Secondly, you will need to register a domain at some point and a domain name has to be unique. Why would you give credit to some other company for your efforts? Moreover, it also helps maintaining legal terms. If some company with the name “abc” cheats its customers and your company has the same name then your brand value will be at stake. Also if you copy the name of some existing company then the company has all rights to sue you under copyright protection laws.
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