If I were to do a company name change, would the public be able to see this somehow, such as BBB, D&B or state/federal records? What about paid records (such as D&B company info)? Please provide links/resources. How would one also maintain legal rights (trademark) in a domain address? For example, if company name is HeyThere Inc, trademark is HeyThere and domain is heythere.com, would I have legal rights over any other TLD's based on trademark infringement?
Yes, a name change will likely show. D&B even keeps track of all business down at individual addresses - so even if you start a new business, but use the same SSN, address, phone number, or have the same persons name associated with it - it will show. Depending on where you live, and what filings you are doing (such a business license, fictitious business, phone number, etc) it may be available to the public for free (each county and state may or may not have electronic records online - you would need to check this out yourself). If you don't change your phone number, you can do a reverse number look up online. You don't trademark and own exclusive rights to a domain TLD. You trademark the name for a particular classification (there are more than 40). You must have been the first person to use, and continue to use that name for that particular classification to establish rights. You can only claim infringement if another person is using the trademark in a manner that conflicts with yours. For example: Apple Computers has a trademark on Apple in various classifications and also owns Apple.com. They have no legal rights to stop usage of anyone else using Apple.xxx unless it conflicts with their usage. In fact, if they forgot to re-register Apple.com, they would have no legal claim to the name unless the person put content related to their classification on it (computers, ipods, music downloads, etc). Just because you currently own a domain name, it does NOT mean you have rights to a trademark or any other TLD. Anyone using the term before you in the same manner (can even be a small business without a website) can claim infringement and contest your usage. It takes about 6 years for a Federal trademark to become uncontestable - up until then, your claim is subject to be contested. The question of whether or not you can claim trademarks rights to a name is not simple. A trademark search that runs a few hundred dollars will give you a pretty good idea, but still not a guarantee. Until you pay to file, wait 6 years, you can never be 100% sure. Some generic terms cannot be trademarked. The more unique the name or type of usage (bluefoxdonutjewelry), the better your chance of being able to trademark a term. Most common single words or phrases are subject to prior usage claims.