The legal issue of similar business names?

I'm thinking of creating a business and a name for it. The problem is, the name for my business is similar to another way. Without revealing anyone's businesses, let's say I want to call mine "My ND Urown Business", but there's already a business with the name "My ND Urown BusinesS Inc" (yes, with the "S". The two businesses are only similar in name (eg, one isn't imitating the products or services of the other).

Would it be ok to name my business "My ND Urown Business", while "My ND Urown BusinesS Inc" also exists?

(I've done a search for the actual names in question, and it doesn't seem they'd steal each other's traffic through keywords)

Not sure about the legality of this, but I'm pretty sure it would annoy not only the owner of the original business name but, more importantly, potential customers who are using a search feature to look for one or the other.
I'd shoot for originality.

You mention that you are thinking of starting a business, then you mention that you have searched the actual names in question, as though they already exist in the two formats....
rather confusing

anywho..

unethical at the very least

If one is a registered name in the "real world" then yes it is illegal

as far as in SL, legalities are a thin line

IF one owner has no issue with the other owner using a similar name, then I guess it would be acceptable

if you are not one of the owners, why should it matter to you?
(could be the same person with an alt for all we know)

Good points.

I should clarify... my intent was NEVER to copy. I thought of my own name, then checked it in search to see if it was already take in some way, and a similar name turned up.

Several years ago, a car maker came out with a new model that had the same name as the company I worked for. Somebody asked about it - if it was legal for them to use the same name - at a company meeting. The laywers told us that it was indeed legal as long as it was a different type of bussiness.

Like, if my company's name was Clouds and we made ice cream, it would not be ok for another company to do a food product called Cloud but it would be ok for a car company to come out with a car called Cloud.

/me is not offering legal advice, just recounting something that happened in RL.

edit: have you tried talking to the owner of the other place?

Firstly, there are strict regulations on trading under a name with Inc unless you are a legally 'inc'. And selling stuff in SL could certainly be considered trading.

Secondly - why do it? Don't you want to be original? Having a name like someone elses is not only going to be confusing, it will make you look like you are copying.

There are millions of words out there - I strongly advise finding some of your own, so to speak.

If they are truly in different markets, it would technically be ok. Just be sure you never intend to branch out.
I can imagine some potential problems if both branched into RL as a companies which "offered services in SL", since the fine distinction of which market *inside* SL could easily be lost in the general classification as "metaverse creator" in the RL market, thus colliding.

That said, I think it is a bad idea. There's just too much opportunity for misunderstandings and drama.

I'd say no, if the business name is already registered irl. A simple capitalization isn't enough.

The only way you could keep the name is if your actual RL name was the same as the business. You could open a hardware store called "McDonald's" if your name was actually McDonald, for example.

Try opening a restaurant named McDonalds, even if your name is McDonald M. McDonalds III and see how far that gets you.

In this case it probably isn't realistically actionable considering the amount of money at stake in most SL businesses, but it's not going to be considered ethical. I know the OP wasn't trying to do something unethical or wrong, and I'm not condemning his character or anything. SL allows a lot of people with very little or no business experience to own and operate businesses, and it's amazing the lack of understanding of basic business values and ethics that you see. People just don't have the experience they need to behave the way they should.

To the OP - my advice is to come up with a new business name and let this issue drop.

It's been done.

http://tinyurl.com/6oa6r9
(sorry about the previous long URL)


"McDonald's Hamburgers can't make McDonald's Hardware Store change its name, and McDonald's Hardware Store in Manhattan can't sue McDonald's Hardware Store in San Francicso."

Edit: OK, a restaurant, yeah, you have a point.

I would pick a different name. You might have zero problems with the same name or your might have unending misery. I guess if you really like the name and if you are prepared for problems then go right ahead.

Why is this even a question? The fact that you are actually considering it i find shocking.

The similarity in names should have been an AUTOMATIC "NO" for you in regards to your using it. The fact that the business is different does not matter.

Why would you even think twice about it? Have you even considered the confusion that will ensue from your customer base?

I know this is a hard concept for many in SL to follow, but, be original.

Just don't use the name Sexgen or they'll make you sleep with the fishes.

But what if my RL name is "Sexgen"?

I'd stay away from that name...it's far too similar. Go fish.

Then I'd say you must have had a rough childhood.

You probably are not running much legal risk in using a similar business name.

The other business needs to have its name registered to even begin to think about protecting its name. In most counties in most states of the U.S., one could register a d/b/a at the local courthouse for a small fee. I bet that hasn't happened.

In fact, though I do not know about the specific business cited in the original post, I'd take odds that very few Second Life businesses tacking "Inc." to their names are actually incorporated. An unincorporated business taking "Inc." to its name is committing fraud.

Beyond that, whether or not you could use a similar (or exact) business name depends on likelihood of confusion among the public as to whether the businesses are the same, or different, businesses. The typical factors that are considered in that analysis are similarity of product, and whether business locations overlap in geographical area.

(If both businesses are Second Life businesses, it may be harder to show that digital products are not similar, and that there are distinct geographic boundaries in area of operation.)

Even if the other business has registered its name, and has a case to protect it, that business would need to start by having its lawyer write a cease-and-desist letter to you. That requires paying legal fees and somehow wrangling your identity out of Linden Lab. It's a tall financial order that, quite frankly, very few Second Life businesses will undertake.

If Linden Lab wants to encourage the small Second Life businesses that make up so much of the Second Life "economy," then it would offer its own policy for protecting business names. But it doesn't. So if you really want to play hardball with another business that has the name you want, it's open season.

The real question is how serious you want to be with your Second Life business.

The visibility of your business in Second Life is almost completely at the mercy of Second Life's poor Search engine.

Making your business undistinguishable from another business in Search hurts you if you want to establish a good, legitimate business. It makes it harder for customers to find you, and it may associate the other business's problems and bad reputation with you.

Making your business indistinguishable from another business in Search helps you if you are a con artist, and you are trying to live off someone else's established good reputation.

If you want to establish a good Second Life business, make a unique name.

In fact, when you make your unique name, register it. Call up your local courthouse and ask the fee. Usually, you don't need a lawyer to do it; it will probably be a simple form and may cost you ten or twenty dollars in fees.

Amity was mostly right, but in most states, you register your business with the state, not the local county. That requires filing a Master Business Application with the state (your state may have a different name for it, but it serves the same purpose) and registering d/b/a's on that document. The will get you some sort of Uniform Business Identifier number (a UBI) with the state and set up accounts for whatever state agencies you have that collect taxes on businesses. States do not want people who are not registered businesses registering d/b/a's. It's a tax issue. Whether you actually do any taxable business is not the issue. Many states have a minumum amount of money you can make before you start paying taxes, and most SL businesses will fall under that threshhold.

If the other party has not registered their name, however, you still may be in trouble. Registration establishes a date when you were first using the name. If they can prove that they were using the name before you, then you may be still in trouble, regardless of whether you registered your name with the state.

Using "Inc." in your name when you are not a corporation is probably not fraud, but it is misleading and could lead to some interesting liability issues. Fraud has a specific legal definition that needs to be met and I doubt any SL business using the term "Inc." in its name is going to rise to that level.

At any rate - the easiest way to completely avoid this problem altogether is to choose a different name. You have nothing invested in the name at this point, so what's the big deal? Just pick a different name and the problem is solved.

Since business law isn't my best area of expertise, and I'm only personally familiar with a few states, I defer to Trout's clarifications. Though I'll add that it's worth checking out what it takes to register your favored business name- you may be pleasantly surprised with the ease and cheapness. There is no harm in finding out.

My short two Lindens

Forget all about whether it would be technically ok, legally ok, ethical, unethical, etc. At the end of the day, there will be nothing technically wrong with it.

Think only about the probable perception of your customers, and the rest of the community. For this reason, and only this reason, I wouldn't consider it for a nanosecond.

Thanks, and I agree with this completely. I didn't mean to make it sound complicated. In my state, a Master Business Application takes about 15 minutes to fill out if you take your time and are lazy about it, and I think it costs $25.00. It's very, very easy. It should be very easy to find out what the procedure is in your state.

Agreed with Zaphod as well. Nothing good can come of this, even if you aren't violating any laws.

Of course, SOME of us live outside the US of A but I hear US policies apply to the rest of the planet...

I have had this happen to me and quite frankly it pisses me off to no end.

Not only do people get confused with the sim Botanical Gardens (mine is named The Botanical Gardens) they also get confused with Botanicial @ Straylight and my sim. I get really tired of customer IM's from other places that managed to name themselves so strikingly similar to mine.

Both of those came long after me and both inevitably benefit from traffic that was intending to route to my sim. I certainly don't have ownership rights to the word Botanical, but I see little difference between what both of these people did and someone creating a store/sim called "Sex-Generations" to capitalize on Stroker's brand.

Don't do it.

This is slightly off-topic, but has anyone suggested to Linden Lab the idea of having a registration service for Second Life business names (along with Linden Lab protection of business names)?

They already allow registration of surnames.

They could charge a fee for it. The cheaper the fee, the better for the Second Life economy, I think. But even something similar to the Vanity Name fee ($50 US + $50 US/year) still would make business name registration accessible to many Second Life business owners.

If this idea hasn't been suggested yet, someone should. (Someone to whom Linden Lab will listen; I don't qualify.)

Isablan, if someone else makes a Botanical Garden, they have every right to call it such. That is not a company name, it is a description.

Just like complaining that someone has called their store 'XXX Clothes' and your store is called 'Clothes Store' or something.

A Botanical Garden is a botanical garden. There are 6,330,000 hits for that phrase on Google. Sorry if I sound rude, but you can't expect some sort of special right to that term.

I just searched it in Second Life. There are loads of botanical gardens which are called as such. And they have every right to be. I can't help thinking it is a wee bit arrogant to aassume that they are using this generic term to get at your customers.