Legal Question in Business Law in Michigan

Name Infringement

We incorporated, in the state of Michigan, 10 years ago and have recently discovered from some of our clients and the general public that there is another company using our name and selling the same product in our market area. The owner of the other company was contacted. He is operating under an assumed name out of another county. The Michigan Department of Consumer and Industry Services Licensing Division told the owner of the other company he had a right to use our name if his county issued a DBA certificate and his appraiser license is in order. Does this mean when you incorporate in the state of Michigan you must get a DBA in all counties, in addition to your Certificate of Incorporation, to prevent competition from using your name to obtain sales?

The other company has used our name 4 years to our 10. We became aware of them because they obtained work from 2 of our clients and an telephone call from the general public.


Asked on 10/02/99, 10:40 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Scapelliti Law Office of Stephen Scapelliti, Esq.

Re: Name Infringement

Securing an assumed name in each county would reserve the name throughout the state; however, doing so is both time consuming and costly. It would not preclude someone applying for and reserving an assumed name which is similar to the one reserved by another company. Even the screening of assumed names by Corporation, Securities, and Land Development Bureau of the State of Michigan does not guarantee that the State will not grant use of a name that is similar to the one granted to you.

Michigan law provides relief to a business where another business utilizes an assumed name which is deceptively similar to that of the first business or which is likely to create confusion for the public. Among the considerations which the court can make are the length of time each of the businesses have used the name, the similarities in the services or goods offered by the businesses, investment in promotion or goodwill by the first business, and evidence of actual confusion as a result of the similar names.

It would be necessary to commence a lawsuit to ask the court to prevent the other business from using the similar name, and to seek damages for any loss of business that might have resulted from the use of the name. The court could grant or deny the relief, depending upon the facts and the law.

This response is not intended to be legal advice. Your rights may be affected by other relevant facts not disclosed in the above inquiry. You should contact an attorney in your area to discuss the facts pertaining to your matter. No attorney/client relationship is created or intended as a result of this response.

Please feel free to contact Stephen Scapelliti at (248) 489-8600, if you wish to discuss this matter further.

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Answered on 10/08/99, 1:02 pm


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