February 2nd, 2012 
Register A Business Name Question by Felt B.: How do I make sure that I am the only person using a business name?
I am creating an online store to sell some photos I took. I do not want to use my own name, I’m going for a “store name.” Is there a place I can register the store name? Do I need to? How much will it cost me? The store will be nothing fancy, just sell a couple things here and there. But I don’t want to be sued for using some other business’ name. Thoughts?
I live in Massachusetts. And the store will be online.
Best answer:
Answer by mobbzee
http://jumpup.intuit.com/step/naming/whyhow
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well any store needs to be registered with your state… that way they can do the checking for you
If you register with your state, you will be assured that no one else in your state will use the name. In order to be sure you are unique though, you would have to do a search on each state’s secretary of state website. This of course would be a bit time consuming, so I would just do an internet search for your chosen business name, and see what comes up. This is also a good way to find out if you are in a highly competitive niche or not.
Good luck!
KK
The best way to do it is by getting a domain name for your business. That’s how most people will remember you on-line anyway. A national company will own its business domain name so if the domain is available the business name most likely is too. You can also search uspto.gov to find out nationally trademarked names. I recommend .com domain names, because anything else people will confuse with .com and you will lose business. The hardest part is finding a good domain name that isn’t taken. The cheapest registrar (company that allows you to buy and sell domains) is 1and1.com. I have many great photography related domain names for sale on my site at http://www.photodomainnames.com. Feel free to check them out for inspiration or make me an offer for one.