BYTE IT

You’ve brainstormed, polled your family and friends and conducted some kind of focus group testing. You’ve come up with a cool domain name. Finally, you’ve crossed one of the trickiest hurdles for any new business — finding the right name for your new brand.

But not so fast. Before you unleash your name on the world, you’ve got to dot a few administrative “i’s” and cross a few legal “t’s.” There are three key legal steps in the naming process.

• Make sure the name is available.
• Register the name with your state.
• Register your property (a.k.a. the name) with the federal government.

Keep in mind that trademark law is complex. While this is a brief introduction to the steps involved, there are specific situations that may vary.