Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Pennsylvania

Re: copyright

A trademark protects business names. www.uspto.gov has more information on how to apply for a federal trademark.

Re: copyright

I beg to differ a bit with the previous respondent. A "trade name" is the name of a business, and it is not the same as a trademark. A trademark can be one or more words, with or without graphics, that can distinguish the goods or services of a business from those of others. Thus Ford Motor Co. is a trade name, whereas the word Ford in a blue oval is one of the company's trademarks for vehicles.

In Pennsylvania, if one operates a business under a name other than that of the proprietor, one is obliged to register the "fictitious name" with the government. A fictitious name registration protects the public from fly-by-nighters, rather than protecting the businessman from others with similar names.