Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Trade Name

Names or designations used by companies to identify themselves and distinguish their businesses from others in the same field.

Trade names are used by profit and non-profit entities, political and religious organizations, industry and agriculture, manufacturers and producers, wholesalers and retailers, sole proprietorships and joint ventures, partnerships and corporations, and a host of other business associations. A trade name may be the actual name of a given business or an assumed name under which a business operates and holds itself out to the public.

Trade name regulation derives from the COMMON LAW of UNFAIR COMPETITION. The common law distinguishes between TRADEMARKS and trade names. Trademarks consist...