Advise in regards to costs, protection, privacy and security of a business for example; 

(01) Correct me if I'm wrong - registering a name in the US as a DBA does not protect from someone 'else' registering it as a Trademark; TM or LLC; Limited Liability Company?  


(02) Can't the law determine if a person(s) did not conducted business under a LLC or Trademark for more than 6 months can have disputes in court weigh heavily against them? 

(03) Due to Limited Budget ($400.USD); cost for registering a DBA (Doing Business As, or otherwise known as; Assumed Name, or standard Business Name) is less than half of what it cost to register a LLC. Are renewal fees less for LLC and Trademarks?  

(04) DBA only covers state; it does not cover nationally and certainly not worldwide? 


(05) If a person(s) register a business name as; LLC does that protect them from someone else registering that name in artwork as a Trademark? 


(06) Internet - Domain: what if a person register's a business name as; LLC and/or Trademark only to shortly afterward find a website (your.name.com) or social network site user for example; Facebook Business 'Page' (facebook/pages/your.name) or Twitter 'Page' already registered (Domain Name) using your LLC name; does the owner (you) of the LLC have rights to claim that domain name or social network user/page name and can this be settled out of court? 


* Correct me if I'm wrong; Domain names are basically giving a person a cheap shot of being the first to plant their flag (name) in cyberspace but it does not give them protection against someone else registering that name as; LLC and/or Trademark. 


(07) In regards to the LLC, there are responsibilities and recommendations that will give the business greater credibility by maintaining on a regular basis such as; government forms and regulations for example; accountability and taxes. One of those recommendations is to have a certified accountant or attorney as registered agent?


(08) According to US applications for LLC registrations; it requires a 'Registered Agent'; although it is not strict law to have an attorney or accountant for example; one of the business owners can also be the registered agent but is this recommended? 


Correct me if I'm wrong - Examples; 


* Privacy and security issues; if the owner is also the Registered Agent; their name and address will readily and freely be available on the public records.  Anybody can access this information; so can a mad man with a gun.  


* Customer complaints or worse for example; sued (summons to court); since all documents including tax forms are sent to the Registered Agent's address?. 


(09) Considering limited budget ($400.USD); what are the ongoing fees for having a credited accountant as Registered Agent? 


(10) Are all Trademark owners also listed (names and addresses) on the public records? 


(11) For Artist Name and Studio Business Name; which is the best (and cheapest) form of registration; LLC or Trademark? 


(12) Considering the issues of; (a) Limited Budget ($400.USD), (b) Protecting Business Name, (c) Privacy and (d) Security; is there anything I or anybody else who happens to stumble on this thread should know for example; legal matters, accountability, credibility, responsibilities? 


Advise and better understanding (explanation) of procedures and such is greatly appreciated. 


Thanks in advance. 

Why not spend the money to hire a lawyer for a one hour consult? 

Instead of getting opinions and bad advice here..... speak to someone who knows, at the very least, the laws, as they pertain in your state. Write your questions down and get the correct answers. 

That is what I did when I started my business.... upon the advice of my CPA.... he said I should speak with a lawyer and consider incorporation.  

I sat down with the lawyer and he took the time to explain all the advantages and disadvantages to doing business in this state as a sole proprietor (DBA), LLC, or as a C-Corp. I chose the C-corp after hearing and understanding my options. That same lawyer then drew up the papers and we got it all done legal and proper. 

Trademarks are not something I needed to worry about but I'm sure any good business attorney can advise you in that area as well. 

As far as web sites.... you can not prevent someone else from using the name... it's all about who gets there first with the registration. Once you register a domain name it belongs to you....  If you recall, back at the beginning of domain names, there was a short lived gold rush with individuals registering names like Pepsi, Coke, McDonalds as dot com.s  and then offering to sell the domain at a serious profit to the company with that name. A few folks got rich that way.  

Any how... that's my advice.... do it right. 

Herb: Why not spend the money to hire a lawyer for a one hour consult? 


Thanks for the good advise; IMO the #1 advise. But I'm a little concerned about costs for a lawyer? 


When I was in Australia it seemed so straight-forward and most people DIY, but here in the US it's slightly different, it seems a little more involved.  


I'm going to ask family about a friend who is a lawyer. It was suggested but I'm trying so keep within budget, I may be able to get it all done (dollar wise) and should a lawyer be hired I will want to fully understand every nanosecond of the process. 

Maybe LegalZoom.com has some advice?  Also, check to see if you have a SCORE (Senior Community Of Retired Executives) office near where you live.  They provide free business advice.  We used both in our start-up.

craigb


Maybe LegalZoom.com has some advice?  Also, check to see if you have a SCORE (Senior Community Of Retired Executives) office near where you live.  They provide free business advice.  We used both in our start-up.

Looked into that; $99 and then the filing fees. Have not looked into Senior Community of Retired Executives; I hope they offer free milk and cookies. :P  

Thanks for the suggestions. 

zungle


My advice, coming from experience....to go with the good advice you've been given


Consult  with both a good CPA and an Attorney, with experience in the business world.
There will be legal and tax implications that may be best addressed by each.

Also be aware, the tax  issues/laws  and corporate protections could and will vary at the Federal level and State level.


So explain your operation and intentions clearly with attention to detail.


Good Luck

Thanks, I'll get right on it; will write a very clear and detailed letter of operations and intentions.

Yeah Herb has pretty much covered most of it.   


My family keeps reminding me about taxes; I suppose once an entity is registered the I*R*S will be monitoring every thing I do; they'll say what... Toilet Paper; $800 per roll?... Plunger; $2,600?.... Lava Lamp; $65,000?.... oh sure, sure!! 

I would definitely post this on a legal forum, there is one somewhere that has a sub-forum for copyright and trademark law. Some time ago I was threatened with legal action for using a phrase on my website that happened to be the name of one of my competitors. The phrase in question was actually the most popular keyword for my business in my location, for people doing Google searches. Therefore it was essential that I included it on my web page in order to get a decent search engine ranking. But my competitor had thought he was clever by naming his business after this keyword phrase. Therefore he thought he had the right to stop anyone else from using on their site. 

I actually got some good advice from a forum, and learned a bit about trademark protection in the process. Turns out the guy had virtually no ground to sue me because the trademark was very weak (it consisted of the type of business that I own - a generic phrase - accompanied by a geographical indicator). 

It's worth learning about trademark strength. For instance, "Apple" is a very generic word that you wouldn't think is a strong trademark, but it gets its strength from the fact that Apple sell computers and not apples. If they sold apples, there's no way they'd be able to trademark "Apple." 

The strongest trademarks are unique names that aren't in the dictionary, for example Kodak or Xerox. There is no way you'd get away with stealing a name like that. 

Not sure how all this pertains to your problem exactly, but it is worth spending some time learning about the different categories of trademark strength. Nor am I sure about Guitarhacker's advice about domain registration. I should think the interpretation of the law has been thrashed out somewhat since the early days of the internet. Try launching a commercial enterprise with the website "Pepsidrink.com" for example. The name is available for registration, but if Pepsi found out they would have a good case to accuse you of using the reputation of their trademark for your own commercial gain.  If that was established, the door would be open for them to sue the bejesus out of you for monetary damages.

sharke


I would definitely post this on a legal forum, there is one somewhere that has a sub-forum for copyright and trademark law. Some time ago I was threatened with legal action for using a phrase on my website that happened to be the name of one of my competitors. The phrase in question was actually the most popular keyword for my business in my location, for people doing Google searches. Therefore it was essential that I included it on my web page in order to get a decent search engine ranking. But my competitor had thought he was clever by naming his business after this keyword phrase. Therefore he thought he had the right to stop anyone else from using on their site. 

I actually got some good advice from a forum, and learned a bit about trademark protection in the process. Turns out the guy had virtually no ground to sue me because the trademark was very weak (it consisted of the type of business that I own - a generic phrase - accompanied by a geographical indicator). 

It's worth learning about trademark strength. For instance, "Apple" is a very generic word that you wouldn't think is a strong trademark, but it gets its strength from the fact that Apple sell computers and not apples. If they sold apples, there's no way they'd be able to trademark "Apple." 

The strongest trademarks are unique names that aren't in the dictionary, for example Kodak or Xerox. There is no way you'd get away with stealing a name like that. 

Not sure how all this pertains to your problem exactly, but it is worth spending some time learning about the different categories of trademark strength. Nor am I sure about Guitarhacker's advice about domain registration. I should think the interpretation of the law has been thrashed out somewhat since the early days of the internet. Try launching a commercial enterprise with the website "Pepsidrink.com" for example. The name is available for registration, but if Pepsi found out they would have a good case to accuse you of using the reputation of their trademark for your own commercial gain.  If that was established, the door would be open for them to sue the bejesus out of you for monetary damages.

Thanks for insight and suggestion :) 


There's a lot of dirty pool in business; the music scene is probably one of the worse and quite frankly I have never trusted anyone and always try best to cover all bases.  The other base to cover is privacy and security concerns; there's a lot of mad men out there; delusional sick-minded creeps!! I don't want mine and my wife's name plastered on public records and I also intend to register an alias 'artist' name. 


The other reason why I need to be advised is in regards to 'works' registration for example; when a writer registers their works (songs and instrumentals) with a PRO they have the option to include 'Publisher'; in doing so I effectively keep at least; 50% to 100% rights (collections) to that entity = my own label/publishing which means; (1) Major labels and Publishers cannot take more than 50% and if they try?, they can go and get stuffed lol, (2) Should I pass away my wife will become sole owner of both the 'Label/Publishing' and continue to collect 'Rights' to my songs. Initially; I effectively give my rights to myself and my wife; she will have equal rights and control of my works.   


I was reading an article; When Two Bands Have The Same Name? . .. an interview with various people including a lawyer. This article also explains a lot about trademarks; (TM) easily applies to music, film, literature and art just as readily as it does for fast cars, beer and drugs (medication) LOL!!  Read more here: Link to Article. 

Come to think of it; there's a forum; Law [?..can't entirely remember the site name?] that I might check out.  

But before I do anything; I'm going to wait for family to get back from their Hawaii vacation and arrange to see an attorney (friend of the family) the costs might be in my ballpark to have this business done right! 

I did also visit a local SCORE office and had a very productive meeting there (for free) and learned quite a few useful things.

Understand it is a free service and the folks are volunteers so you may or may not be able to get the exact person you need.... BUT, you have to call to set up the appointment so simply ask for the expertise you are seeking. 

I don't have a clue on what it costs now to hire a lawyer for an hour.... I guess like most, the rates will vary from one to the next. 

My entire legal fee was $500. That included all the meetings I had with the lawyer to discuss in detail everything I wanted to do, the follow ups to double check the information, the filings and associated fees with the State of NC, and the final meeting where I received the paperwork, book, stamp and any final questions..... 

For not having to do it all myself...priceless.

Legal zoom is cheaper. However, you are pretty much expected to know, to some degree, what you want.... of course, they step you through a series of questions, to get to your desired results....I would check them out if the business you are setting up is straight forward. Since you mentioned trademarks, I would assume it is not quite so straight forward..... so again... the one on one with a lawyer is worth the money. 

Ask yourself.... what is a couple of hundred dollars to get things right...compared to "do it yourself" and perhaps miss a crucial detail that down the road will cost you thousands of dollars, if not more? 

If this is regards to music.... by all means, hire a MUSIC ATTORNEY from one of the music capitals. LA, NYC, or Nashville. 

Dewwe, Screwum, and Goode down the corner will not know the music business like they need to.