Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Establishing Company

First, there are lawyers and search companies that make a business of "clearing" proposed company names, product names, trademarks, and the like. In some cases, it is warranted to make use of such a service.

Next, it looks as though you have done some searching yourself, if you have found an identically-named company in Canada. I assume by implication that the same search did NOT turn up a same-named company anywhere in the U.S.

Using several different Internet search engines is a pretty good tool - don't depend just on Google, buy also try a couple others, and document your searches by printing out and dating all "nothing found" search results. Keep in mind that a domain name is not necessarily the business name, or its trademark (but might be).

In California, go to the Secretary of State's Web site at www.ss.ca.gov, then the business portal, then corporate name search, and run your proposed name on BOTH the "corporations" and "LLC/LP" searchable data bases. Look in phone books, trade directories, and maybe the national registry of trademarks at (I think) www.uspto.gov (the U.S. Patent and Trademark office).

Finally, maybe finding an identically-named business is not fatal to your choice. I imagine there are more than a dozen of "Ace Plumbing" and "Joe's Bar and Grill" in the United States. These businesses are in no realistic danger of suit from each other, because there is little likelihood of confusion in the marketplace, and little likelihood of any provable money damages if one were to sue the other.

If in doubt, consult an intellectual-property (trademark) lawyer, but otherwise, a good search and use of common sense if a conflicting name is found, should keep you out of trouble. Trouble arises when the marketing area and product type begin to overlap; then the next issues are whether there is customer confusion, whether someone acted deliberately, and whether there are significant past or prospective money damages that can be proven.