Perhaps a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but you don't want to take any chances with your new small business.  Your business name will often be the first thing potential clients know about your business.  It may be what appears in online searches or what they find in the local Yellow Pages.  Whether humorous, serious, descriptive, or abstract, naming a business is often one of the initial stumbling blocks that an entrepreneur must cross.

As you begin brainstorming names for your new venture, keep in mind these considerations.

McFlurries, McNuggets, McMuffins, and the latest McCafe, McDonald's has built an identity behind A big M and little c. And the prefix has found its way into popular culture with references to McMansions, McSteamies, and McDreamies.  But is the "Mc" a protectable trademark for McDonalds?

A Federal Court in Malaysia doesn't think so.  In a case first brought by McDonald's in 2001, alleging that a local restaurant "McCurry" infringed on the famous trademarked "Mc", the court held that there was no evidence that McCurry was attempting to emulate the Golden Arches.  And it ordered the U.S. franchise to pay 10,000 Malaysian ringgit (approximately $2900) in costs.

We have covered interesting instances of trademark infringement including scenarios involving In-N-Out, Gucci, and Fender guitars,  but this is something intriguing even for our team.  The phrase "Life Guard" -- trademark protected or not?

When Polo Ralph Lauren printed a series of T-shirts with that very phrase the company likely did so in the vein of so many other popular shirts with snappy, suggestive, or quirky phrases.  Besides occupation-related tees sporting "Firefighter", "Undercover Cop", "M.D." or any number of phrases, a stroll in D.C. will undoubtedly lead you to street vendors willing to give you a deal if you buy all three flavors of their printed wearables, "FBI'", "CIA", and "Secret Service".  

So, have you logged in your vote yet?

The way small business gets things done is changing.  Social media, online marketing, and e-newsletters have allowed businesses big and small connect to their customers in new and innovative ways.  Best of all, using the right combination of online and traditional media can help level the playing field between small biz and big biz, and all within budget.

Is your small business ready to go 2.0?

Here are some tips of ways to spruce up your business's image through design and tech innovation.

Sleepless nights, unwieldy cravings, dissatisfaction with other options... eating a burger from the famous west-coast chain that started in Southern California can leave you wanting more.  But after visiting an In-N-Out Burger fast-food restaurant on the west-side you are warned from trying to appease your condition by replicating the experience where you live.

In-N-Out takes trademark infringement seriously.

It's tough being a Gucci these days.   And famed designer Paolo Gucci's ex-wife and daughter found that out all too well when a federal court barred them from using the "Gucci" name to sell handbags, gelato, and other goods without trademark approval.   Paolo Gucci was grandson to founder of the luxury Gucci brand and was known for a litigious streak.  By the time of his death in 1995 many of the Gucci family members had been ousted from the company, with the rest to follow after.

At the heart of the matter is trademark infringement.  U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman issued a permanent injunction banning the mother and daughter from using the Gucci name commercially on a list of products including coffee, bedding, housewares, cosmetics, hosiery, handbags, wine, and gelato. 

Tonight Facebook will open the flood gates and allow users to reserve vanity URLs. Instead of their Facebook page having a cumbersome address filled with numbers, these users (millions of them) will be found at addresses like www.facebook.com/john.doe. While such vanity URLs are nothing new, the land rush for Facebook vanity URLs will likely bring some users into conflict with other people's trademarks.

A vanity URL would be a definite benefit for businesses already on Facebook. Their Facebook URL will be much simpler, and potential customers will find them more easily. However, what happens if somebody else grab's a URL containing your trademark?

Most important things first: owners of registered trademarks can go onto Facebook's site and request that their trademarks be made unavailable for others to use in their vanity URL. Trademark owners must do so by 12:00am EDT this Saturday.

Some legal background: can elements of URLs infringe on trademarks? Yes. A URL containing a trademark can infringe if it's used commercially and would likely cause consumer confusion as to source. For example, if Smokin' BBQ was a registered trademark, www.facebook.com/smokinbbq would likely infringe if it was claimed by another barbeque company.

Trademarks allow businesses to communicate to customers where goods and services originate. Your business spent time, sweat and money to make what you sell. Connecting the product to your company in the consumer's mind is vital to attracting and keeping business. Here are 6 common misconceptions and mistakes businesses make regarding trademarks.

1. Failing to properly search existing trademarks. Simply looking at what is already registered is not enough. Neither is disregarding owners whose registrations have been "cancelled" or "abandoned." Trademark rights are created by use, and even if they have not registered, or have not properly maintained their registration, others still may have rights to the trademark in question.
2. Thinking that because you coined a phrase or name you own a trademark. You have no trademark rights until your mark is used in commerce. Use of a trademark gives you geographically limited common law trademark rights. Federal registration gives you nationwide rights. Both common law and federal trademark rights are subject to rights previously owned by others.
3. Thinking that putting a "TM" next to your trademark is enough. Common law trademark rights can give geographically limited protection without federal registration, but slappig a "TM" (or the "poor man's trademark" symbol), however won't gain you any protection outside your immediate area of operation. In the mean time, someone else can apply for federal protection of the same trademark and leave you fighting to protect your ability to continue using the mark.

Bratz dolls may no longer be made by toy-maker MGA Entertainment after a ruling yesterday in a California federal court. The reason? A designer MGA used for the cartoonish yet scantily clad dolls for young girls was on contract for Mattel when he worked on the Bratz designs. As the downturn (and hopefully upturn) causes employment shifts, new employees and especially businesses that hire them should take care not to use work from a past job.

Doll designer Carter Bryant worked for Mattel for two stints -- from 1995 to April 1998 and then from January 1999 to September 2000, as reported by the BBC. In the legal saga following the Bratz power grab from Barbie and the toy giant Mattel, MGA insisted that Bryant came up with the Bratz idea while unemployed between his stints at Mattel. A California jury found otherwise last August. Carter Bryant settled with Mattel, and subsequently Mattel won a $100 million jury verdict. As the AP reports, yesterday's ruling rejected MGA's attempt to reduce the award, and order the Bratz brand and MGA assetts into receivership.

$90 million of the $100 million award was for intentional interference with the designer's contract with Mattel. Under his contract, Mattel was entitled to his doll designs while he worked for them. By hiring Bryant and using the designs he contractually owed to Mattel, MGA wound up losing its billion dollar Barbie nemesis.