How to trademark a business name in missouri [FAQs]

Last updated : Sept 3, 2022

How much does it cost to trademark a name in Missouri?

Protect Your Business Name With a Trademark (Optional) Once you confirm the availability of your business name and secure it, you can choose to apply for a trademark for your business. This typically costs around $225 to $400 plus any attorney fees as well as a renewal fee every 10 years.

Should I trademark my business name before forming my LLC?

In most cases, the best time to file a trademark application for your business name is right after you've filed paperwork to form your LLC or corporation. By doing this before your business officially launches, it protects the name for commercial use once you're up and running.

How do you trademark a small business name?

1. First, decide if a trademark is right for you or if you should pursue another avenue.
2. Next, you must choose the mark to submit to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
3. Once you've found a suitable trademark name, prepare then submit an application to the USPTO.

Can I trademark an existing business name?

If you're wondering, "can you trademark something that already exists," the simple answer is "no." Generally speaking, if somebody has used a trademark before you, you can't register the trademark for yourself.

How long does a trademark last?

A federal trademark lasts 10 years from the date of registration, with 10-year renewal terms. Between the fifth and sixth year after the registration date, the registrant must file an affidavit to state that the mark is still in use.

Do you have to put Llc in your business name in Missouri?

In Missouri, you can operate your sole proprietorship or general partnership without filing with the state. This can simplify starting your business, but these structures will not protect your personal assets.

Which Comes First LLC or trademark?

So, the LLC MUST exist before the trademark is filed. Every trademark has an owner, and the owner is usually the person or business that is using it. LLC comes first when you want to use the trademark for your business, and you're going to form an LLC because the LLC will be the owner of the trademark.

Whats better LLC or trademark?

Trademarks are granted at the FEDERAL level by the USPTO and give the owner exclusive rights to their mark throughout the USA. LLC is how you form a business and trademarks are how you protect the business, brand, reputation, and recognition. Both are necessary and serve a role in your business.

Should I trademark my business name or logo?

For this reason, you should apply for both trademark registrations if you have a business name and a logo you wish to protect. Wordmarks and design marks represent two very different aspects of your brand. Protecting just your name may not sufficiently protect your logo from being used by someone else.

Why should I trademark my business name?

Names hold power in business. So establishing ownership of and rights to a business name is an important step for businesses that want to ensure a name remains one-of-a-kind. Registering a trademark helps protect a name or brand from intellectual property theft or misuse as a business grows.

Do I need to trademark my business name and logo?

Summary. Registering your business name for a trademark isn't required in order for you to have trademark rights. However, a registered trademark can provide greater protection for your brand while helping you build your brand and drive business growth.

What happens if I don't trademark my business?

If you do not register your trademark, you will have legal rights only within the geographic areas where you operate. This means you may be able to stop a subsequent user of the mark, even if it is a bigger company, from using the mark in your geographic area only.

Can 2 businesses have the same name?

Can Two Companies Have the Same Name? Yes, however, certain requirements must be met in order for it to not constitutes trademark infringement and to determine which party is the rightful owner of the name.

What names Cannot be trademarked?

• Proper names or likenesses without consent from the person.
• Generic terms, phrases, or the like.
• Government symbols or insignia.
• Vulgar or disparaging words or phrases.
• The likeness of a U.S. President, former or current.
• Immoral, deceptive, or scandalous words or symbols.
• Sounds or short motifs.

What are the three types of trademarks?

What you'll learn: Arbitrary and Fanciful Trademarks. Suggestive Trademarks. Descriptive Trademarks.

What are the common problems regarding on trademarks?

• Using the TM Symbol Incorrectly.
• Not Using the Trademark In Commerce.
• Searching For Similar Trademarks.
• Not Having a Distinctive Trademark.
• Choosing the Wrong Trademark Class.
• Not Monitoring the Status of Your Application.

How long does a trademark take to get approved?

Usually, the process takes 12 to 18 months. Registering your trademark is a complex procedure that involves your application moving through various stages. Learning about each stage in the process will help you understand why getting a trademark takes as long as it does.

Does Missouri require a business license?

Yes, Missouri requires all businesses selling tangible goods or taxable services in the state to obtain a sales tax license so it may charge appropriate sales tax. Many cities, such as St. Louis, will also require home-based businesses to obtain a business operating license before legally operating.

How much does a business license cost in Missouri?

Thereafter, a renewal is required annually. The fee for an initial application is $55 if there are two partners, $80 if there are three partners, and $105 for four or more partners. The basic fee for each subsequent renewal is $105, plus an additional $50 for each new partner added up to a maximum fee of $205.

Can I apply for a trademark myself?

Any layman who wants to register a trademark can apply himself. But when the practical applicability is considered, appointing an attorney will ease the process to register a trademark. Certain procedures are to be followed to apply for a trademark. An application is filed.

Check these related keywords for more interesting articles :
Trademarks are territorial in nature
Copyright 4 factors fair use
Patents and trademarks are typical examples of
Search us trademark registration number
How to brand ambassador in hindi
Is know how an intellectual property rights
Trademark registration procedure in india
Trademark registration process in us
How to remove copyright from pendrive
How to get a branded hashtag
Trademark registration cipo
Trademark engine customer service
How to copyright a drink recipe
Patent in india example
Intellectual property european law

Write a comment

coming up with a business name is one of the most important steps in forming a business your name affects your branding and your image as a company let's get you started on the right path picking a solid business name in Missouri Missouri is an excellent place to form a new business with a strong culture of entrepreneurship low corporate taxes and a highly ranked ease of doing business every state has slightly different requirements for naming a business follow along closely to learn the required steps for naming a business in the state of Missouri in this video we will go over how to name your business based on your business structure branding and brainstorming business names and how to check your names availability be sure to ask yourself the seven essential questions we provide before you make this critical business decision 1 choose a business structure you'll need to determine your company's business structure before deciding a name as different business structures have different naming requirements there are formal business structures like LLC's and corporations and informal business structures like sole proprietorships and general partnerships in this first section we'll talk about the naming requirements of each informal business structures if you are operating under a sole proprietorship your company must operate under the surname of the owner in order to use a different name the owner must file a DBA or doing business as also known as an assumed name fictitious name or trade name general partnerships are similar to sole proprietorships with the difference being that partnerships consist of two or more people a general partnerships name must consist of the surnames of all the partners like a sole proprietorship if you want to operate under a different name you need to file for a DBA LLC or limited liability companies if your company is an LLC your name must include the phrase limited liability company or one of its abbreviations LLC or LLC with a period in between each letter restricted words such as Bank Attorney law office etc may require additional paperwork and may also need a licensed professional to be part of the LLC your name cannot include words that could confuse your LLC with the government agency such as FBI Treasury or State Department here are some state specific requirements for Missouri LLC's your name cannot contain any of the following terms or their abbreviations corporation incorporated limited partnership limited liability partnership limited liability limited partnership an Ltd your name cannot imply that the LLC is organized for any purpose other than the one outlined in its articles of organization corporations if your business is a corporation or a c-corp your name must include the words corporation company incorporated limited or an abbreviation of any of these here are some state specific requirements for missouri corporations your name cannot imply that the corporation is organized for any purpose other than the one outlined in its Articles of Incorporation your name cannot include words that could confuse your corporation with the government agency such as FBI Treasury State Department etc when choosing your business structure you may hear the term S corp which isn't actually a business structure but a type of tax structure used by an LLC or corporation if your business is taxed as an S corp follow Missouri's naming requirements for the business structure you chose for all business structures your name must be distinguishable from other existing businesses in Missouri a couple examples of names not being distinguishable would be Auto Store Inc versus Auto Store LLC the only difference in the name is the business structure changing the words the and or a in front of your business name does not make it distinguishable for example the auto store Inc auto store Inc and an auto store Inc are not distinguishable from each other using an ampersand instead of aunt or vice versa such as Smith and Smith is not different enough from Smith and Smith using an ampersand your business name can't have words that sound identical to another business with a different spelling boys Inc with an S and boys Inc with a Z are not distinguishable to branding and brainstorming when picking your business name you'll also want to consider whether your legal business name will be your brand name or if you will have a separate brand name your legal name is what is listed on your formation documents this includes words required based on your business structure such as LLC Corp or company your brand name is the name you use to market your company and the name that clients and customers see in use when deciding what to name business decide on your branding strategy using these three options do you want your business's legal name to also be your brand name such as Tiffany and Co do you want your legal business name to be different from your brand name hewlett-packard is HP do you want to have a legal business name and several different brand names Gap Inc is their legal business name but their brand names are Gap Old Navy and Banana Republic while you're thinking about how to brand your business start brainstorming some business names you should start by brainstorming at least four to five potential names the goal is to come up with a few catchy and creative names then check to see if they are available a good brainstorming session should last 15 to 45 minutes and it's important that you're comfortable think snacks water a comfy place to sit and your favorite pen use a timer and don't stop till it goes off if you need more time take a 15-minute break walk around a bit grab some more water and start again after doing some brainstorming and coming up with a list of a few business names to choose from ask yourself these questions to help pick a name or refine some of the names you have is my name simple and shorter rather than longer a simple name will be easier to remember easier to talk about and easier to write you can avoid some hassle by having a simple and short name shorter business names are easier to remember and generally simpler than long business names if your business name is too long there's a possibility that your clients call you by a nickname that you have no control over and doesn't do your business any favors how does the name sound when I say it out loud don't just read the name actually say it out loud say your name slow fast and with the different emphasis to make sure it doesn't end up sounding like something else is it easy to pronounce spell and does the acronym look okay along the same lines as having a simple name a business name will be more memorable if it's easy to pronounce and spell another important thing to keep in mind is if the acronym of your business ends up spelling something you don't want to choose a name for your business only to find out the first letter of each word spells out flop did I include a geographical location in my name by including a location in your name you may limit your business and growth potential customers and other states may not consider contacting you if they think you

Thanks for your comment Bobette Twohig, have a nice day.
- Lou Coco, Staff Member

welcome to how to register a business name in Missouri presented by starting your business comm this video is a part of a series of videos on starting a business in Missouri after deciding on the legal entity of your business it's time to decide on a name while it's not required we would recommend checking to see if there is a trademark protecting the name you want to use here's a quick guide on how to check first go to the United States Patent and Trademark Office at uspto.gov when you get to USPTO click on trademarks you can learn more about trademarks here but to search names that are currently trademarked click on the search trademark database next click on the basic word mark search in the search term field type in the business name you want to use in this example let's enter mr. handyman and click Submit there are a number of listings that come up with this particular name there are a few causes of concern that would likely want you to have a legal professional review but tempting to register your name there are a few names that include mr. handyman along with some additional words that are probably safe to use the names in this column that are dead are likely safe too as the previous registrant did not renew their name now here is a live listing for mr. handyman to be concerned about you can click on that listing to see more information in some cases a name that is trademarked can still be used since trademarks are grouped in categories and what the USPTO calls classes in this example mr. handyman is registered under home repair and general maintenance services within the goods and services category you could potentially register mr. handyman if your business operated outside of home repair and general maintenance services if you do a search and the name you want is registered you may want to consider getting professional help if you don't you may invest a lot of time and money establishing a business name that you may have to later abandon once the trademark search is out of the way the process of registering a business name will vary depending on the type of organization chosen for sole proprietorships or partnerships there are two options one is to operate on the owners full first and last name like John Smith this type of name does not need to be registered most businesses will however want to operate under a trade name like John Smith's handyman service mr. handyman and so on to register a business name for a sole proprietorship or partnership by all the fictitious name registration with the Missouri Secretary of State the fee to file is seven dollars to register a name for a corporation or LLC you must have a unique name at the time of filing to check the availability of names visit the Missouri Secretary of State's website while nobody else can form a corporation or LLC with your business name in Missouri someone else could still legally use your business name regardless of which entity you use to register your business registering does little to stop anyone from using your name to keep others from using it consider getting a trademark for more information about registering your business name in Missouri check out starting your business comm if you like this video on how to register a business name in Missouri be sure to watch the others and the starting of business and Missouri series starting a business can be difficult but you don't have to do it on your own the starting your business dot-com site has lots of information to help get your business started and we have experienced business advisors ready to answer your questions at no cost

Thanks Julian your participation is very much appreciated
- Lou Coco

About the author

Lou Coco

I've studied digital preservation at Holy Family University in Philadelphia and I am an expert in cultural anthropology. I usually feel calm. My previous job was religious institution education coordinator I held this position for 23 years, I love talking about fusilately (phonecard collecting) and vaudeville. Huge fan of Billy Ocean I practice snowboarding and collect petroliana.