Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

Company in same industry using the same name but in a different State

We are incorporated in the State of N.J., and recently found out there is a company located in Arizona with the same name, in the same industry with a very similar product line! They also incorporated the same year as we did in 1995, although they beat us by 8 months. We've had a few sales on the West Coast, but up until now we have concentrated on the East Coast. However, we are looking to expand and sell more product on the West Coast. We want to know what our legal rights are. We know at the very least there will be confusion between our companies since the only difference in our name is that we are "Enterprises" and they are "Industries". What are our options? Should we trademark our company name? Should we re-incorporate under a different name, and if we do that, how do we prevent the same situation from happening all over again?


Asked on 11/21/99, 8:18 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dale Lundquist (Solo)

Re: Company in same industry using the same name but in a different State

Incorporation is a matter of state law so the only way to tie up a given name is to incorporate in all 50 states, or 49 here since the other corp. beat you by 9 months in Arizona. If you do business in different states you can federally trademark/servicemark your company name and logo if someone hasn't got the name already. For further details contact an attorney directly for legal advice. Goodluck.

Read more
Answered on 11/23/99, 11:18 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Business Law questions and answers in New Jersey