Hello all, If I am registering a company name in NJ, can someone register that name in any other state? Example, Someone has a business called The Rack My business is called The Racks Someone registered The Rack in Colorado. Can I register The Racks in NJ? Is the person who owns The Rack wants to register The Racks in Colorado, can they? Would I get in trouble if I registered that in name in NJ is someone has an almost identical name in another state? Any help would be appreciated.
Are you talking about a corporation or llc? Fictitious name filing are done by county, but in any case, they only check to see if someone has that name registered in the State or County. You can have many different companies with the same name in different states. You also have to worry about possible trademark infringement, and the State or County doesn't do that. i.e. Don't register "Google, inc" just because the state will let you.
Right now I haven't set up a LLC or Corp. The company in question has a LLC. Here is another set of questions. Lets say The Rack has a trademark already in place. Can I put a trademark on The Racks? Question number 2 Lets say The Rack has a trademark PENDING. Can I put a trademark on The Racks?
If they are of the similar usage, no, you cannot trademark either one. If the usage is completely different, then you might be able to, but you should have a trademark search done because no registration is needed for a trademark.
In short, yes you would - it doesn't matter what state it's in, TM law (or 1st use) is a USA-wide issue... I once knew a guy who owned a graphic design shop (let's say it was named Digital Design Studios)...he was operating for years until another place named Digital Design Studios on the west coast found out. He was forced to change his business name because the other place had proof of 1st use in commerce.