Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Re: Interstate fictitious name usage

It depends. Fictitious name registration is not for the protection of the name but for protection of the public. By requiring registering a fictitious name the state has in place one more assurance that the public can know who it is doing business with and the state knows whom to chase after should they so need.

While the fictitious name registration does provide some limited protections to the name it is generally limited to the jurisdiction where registered and the particular industry where that name is used.

Instead, your should have sought or should seek trademark protection by properly filing with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is very sophisticated legal work and should not be done by the amatuer. This falls under the purview of intellectual property law and in fact it's not even an area where I practice; I refer these matters to specialists. While the names may be protected there is a sophisticated hierarchical system that would determine who had rights to use the name in what markets and industries. In other words, if you're going to make an issue of this it will be expensive. I say that not to dissuade you but to prepare you for that fight.

If you'd like me to refer you to one or more attorneys I would be happy to do so. Please contact me at [email protected] and I'll send you some names. I handle general business matters, partucularly compliance issues, and would be happy to work with your business should you need legal assistance in the future.

Regards,

Roger Traversa

[email protected]