Legal Question in Business Law in California

Hello Lawguru Team,

I would like to file a new business name in the County of San Francisco. It will be a green building consultant company with the desired name "The Energy Control Company". I've checked with the county and the name seems to be available. Now, there is a registered trademark for this "wordmark". http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4008:10k6v4.3.3

Is it still legal to use this as a company name, since it will be another field?

I look forward to receiving your response.

Seraina Gysin


Asked on 11/21/12, 1:05 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

I'd say that if your firm is in a different line of business and in a different region of the country, you're pretty safe. I also checked the California Secretary of State web site and it looks as though the proposed name is available for a California corporation or LLC. Remember that a hallmark of name infringement is "likelihood of confusion" and if you are in different businesses in different parts of the country, the likelihood is very small.

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Answered on 11/21/12, 1:29 pm


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