Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

Tradenames

I am the principal of a registered LLC in the State of Washington. I operate under a registered name and several registered "doing business as..." names. I recently discovered a company in the State of Montana that is doing business using one of my registered names (this company was formed 6 months after mine). My question is: Are tradenames or registered names protected only in the State that they were issued, or are they protected throughout the United States? My business sells products and services to customers in all 50 States and now my advertising dollars are inadvertantly helping this new competitor that has my business name and is adding confusion to the marketplace.


Asked on 4/11/00, 3:15 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jeffrey W. Jones Jeffrey W. Jones, P.A.

Re: Tradenames

You have the right to use the registered assumed business names exclusively within the state of Washington. However, Washington law does not apply to Montana. The only recouse is to look to federal copyright and trademark law. If you have used advertising in Montana using your trade names and they have acquired a secondary meaning, then you may have the right to force your competitor to surrender use of your trade name(s).

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Answered on 4/24/00, 12:18 pm


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