I’m in the process of organizing an annual film festival in my small town. I want to register the name of the festival so nobody can register it later and then charge me to use the name. Is there a relatively simple and inexpensive way to do this that doesn’t involve hiring an attorney? I live in the state of Montana if that matters.
You can reserve a business name in Montana by completing a form (available here) and filing it, together with a fee of $10 (more, if you want expedited handling) with the Secretary of State.
Note that the reservation is good for only 120 days, after which the name becomes unreserved again, and someone else can claim it. So you need to start actually carrying on your business within 120 days. (That doesn’t mean that your film festival has to start within the 120 days; just that you have to start using the name for the purpose of organising, advertising, etc, the festival.) And, when you do start using the name, you need to register it (as opposed to merely reserving it). That means another form and another filing fee, this time $20.
Note that registering a business name doesn’t give you exclusive rights to the name, or even guarantee that you are entitled to carry on business under the name. If the name is identical to, or confusingly similar with, a name already in use by someone else they may take action to restrain you from using the name. The purpose of registering a business name is not primarily to benefit you, but to benefit the people dealing with you, so they can find out who they are dealing with when they deal with “Sickdale Film Festival”. Still, if you try to register a name that is already registered in the state, they’ll reject the name.
Thanks UDS. Ignorance fought.
Maybe its time to register as a not-for-profit organisation , if its such a valuable idea …
By that way you will register the suitable name for the organisation,
rather than the suitable name for the event.
“Fried Tomato BBQ” may not be the suitable organisation name…
whereas "The Cure Arthritis Charity " might be a better name for fund raising for Arthritis causes, for example… The problem of event names must have been dealt with somehow, but I guess it can be done as a trading name…
Cure Athritis trading as “Fried Tomato BBQ” ??? By that way you can have your primary company name sensible and respectable for dealing with government and the media and so on, and the events are a separate enterprise…what if someone then says your event name is a protected name ? your company would have a problem because its primary name has to change…
BTW, http://www.mtnonprofit.org … is your association …
Register the name of the festival as a trademark (either in letters of a logo, or both preferably). Register it in the country you want to use it, at your federal level trademark registration authority and register in in International Class 41 for:
Education, namely, providing of training, classes, seminars and workshops in the field of films, cinema, performing arts, entertainment, media communication; publication of books and reviews, lending library; entertainment, namely, production of television shows and films, rental of films, production of sound recordings, rental film projections apparatus and accessories for theaters sets; filming and recording services on video tapes; sporting and cultural activities, namely, organization of competitions, arranging and conducting of colloquiums, conferences, congresses, exhibitions in the field of films, cinema, performing arts and entertainment; news reporting services in the field of current events, cultural activities, films