Legal Question in Business Law in California

Use of a particular name for a local business
I plan to start a local food business in San Francisco. I have no plans to go National with this name. I want to use ''Nourish'' as by business name. It is not registered with the county clerk, so I think I am safe there. However, when searching the internet, I found two other instances using Nourish. One was Nourish.com (not Nourish), which is a health website. I would not compete with these business at all. The other was associated with a program through NutriSystem. It is phrased as NutriSystem Nourish. I don't plan to compete with their system, and am not using that name to help brand my business. Therefore, do I have legal rights to use ''Nourish'' for my local business? I truly hope so!

Asked on 5/25/06, 11:55 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

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Re: Use of a particular name for a local business

I also checked the Secretary of State's Web site and found three corporations and one LLC with the word "Nourish" as part of a longer business name.

Based upon this information, I would have little hesitation about going ahead and choosing this name for my own business, if so inclined.

I cannot assure you that you are 100.000% in the clear of all challenges, but I'd say you're in better shape than most new-business name choosers I've encountered.

The name probably can't be trademarked as such, because it is just a single dictionary word. Therefore, for your protection against future encroachers, and for all the other usual reasons, you might want to consider incorporating or forming an LLC.

Answered on 5/26/06, 12:54 am

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