Legal Question in Business Law in Florida

Incorporation Name and Rights
I Incorporated with the state of Florida in Jan. 2002. I filed as ''X Inc. dba Y''. However, on my Artilcles of Incorporation it shows my name of Incorporation as ''X Inc''. After reasearching the State Dept. of Corporations database I find that the name of my Corporation is listed as ''X Inc.'' and does not include ''dba Y''. I did not file fictitous paperwork because I was told I did not have to because of the way I filed( which included the name I intendeed to dba ''Y''). However, now it seems a company has Incorporated and recieved a Federal Trademark using the name I wanted to dba. What is my legal Corporation Name the one on file with the State or the one I filed. I know I may need to come up with another name to dba because of the Federal Trademark. I have not yet used the dba name in commerce. However, I was interviewd for our local paper and used the dba name for my company, it was published as such in the paper. Is this concidered infridgment on their trademark?

Asked on 8/31/02, 3:53 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Peter Gonzalez Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Crespo, Gomez & MachadoLLP

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Re: Incorporation Name and Rights

Unless the proper forms and procedures relating to d/b/a were filed and followed, then your d/b/a may not have qualified or been properly registered. If you hired an attorney to do that work, follow up with that lawyer. If you did it yourself, then now you have learned that saving a few hundred dollars may have cost you the name you intended to own and use. As for trademark infringement, it depends on various factors, including whether the trademark owner and your business compete with one another, share the same or part of the same market, whether there can be any confusion between the two businesses with prospective customers, etc. You would need to consult with an attorney and provide additional facts in order to receive meaningful feedback on this issue. Good luck.

Answered on 9/02/02, 6:18 pm

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