When a company is incorporated in one state, can a company in another state have the same name and spelling?

I know there can only be one company, but is it on a state or national level? ie. i work for tom jones inc. in georgia, but there's also a tom jones inc. in north carolina. the only difference is the city, state, and federal id number. it's getting confusing and we're starting to be confused with the other company. from what i've heard they recently changed their name to the same one i have, and i've been in business 4 years.

When a company is incorporated in one state, can a company in another state have the same name and spelling?
Yes. You can have the same corporation name as another company in another state. But if the name is trademarked, then you can be sued by that other company.





From the article "Incorporating With Same Company Name in Another State" http://www.powerhomebiz.com/guide/cases/... , "In order to form a corporation, most states only require that the corporation's name be distinguishable (ie. different) from the names of other corporations and/or other business entities that are registered in the state of incorporation.





Once you have incorporated in your state, no other corporation could be formed in your state with the same name for as long as your corporation is in existence. However, this would not preclude someone from incorporating a business with the same name in another state. It can and certainly does happen, and I have personally come across many corporations (and limited liability companies) with identical names in various states in my work as an incorporation specialist.





However, in instances where a name is trademarked it would not be entirely unheard of for a company to receive a notice to cease and desist from infringing on a trademark and, in effect, requiring the company to change its name. "
Reply:Company incorporations are purely on a state by state basis.


So you can be named the same company name, so long as there is no trademark on the company's name.





However, if you sell something with the same name as another product from another company you can face legal action.
Reply:Did they legally change the name of the business or did they just change the public name? My wife was looking at registering her business and there was a national number she had to call to make sure the name was actually available.


The problem of course is there is nothing stopping people from naming their business Tom A Jones, inc and putting up the sign that says Tom Jones, inc or TJ, inc or whatever.


One is a legal name, the other is a SM or TM. Now if you have a TM or SM on Tom Jones (I'd think the singer Tom Jones probably already has that though) maybe you've got some recourse
Reply:dpends if they have a patent
Reply:yes they can. i work at a govt agency and we get confused too.

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