Legal Question in Business Law in Indiana

the last thing you want to be is a litigant. the trademark issue is unclear but why risk litigation. it sounds like your former employer perhaps is agitated and all they need is to get a lawyer to file a suit and then you have to hire one and the brawl starts. we have been involved in these and there are no winners except the lawyers. i strongly suggest you simply don't use their name. godd luck on your new buisness!

Trademark rights and protection do not come from registering the name, they come from using the name in business. It does not matter if the name is a registered trademark, if it has been used to identify the salon (and it is not a generic name) you likely cannot use it in your advertising in any prominent way. Now if you are publishing your work experience, use of the salon name would probably be fair use, as long is it is not more prominent than is necessary.

I certainly agree that fighting over a possible trademark violation is not worth risking. If you can advertise that you recently worked at a premiere salon, or something similar, you can get the benefit without the risk.