I've checked on copyright.gov, and my name isn't taken. I'm starting a small company that markets online downloadable games. I'm going to make a website with the name after I copyright it, but I don't want to make the website, someone see the name, and copyright it themselves. How do I go about this? If I make a website, will that copyright my name? Thanks!

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You can't copyright a name. You can trademark it and you can create a corporation that will protect it in the state where you incorporate and any other states your register in. Here's a link for the trademark process. http://www.uspto.gov/smallbusiness/trademarks/registering.html

Good question, but WRG is right. Here's a breakdown of the differences between a patent, copyright and trademark: Patent If you have an invention that you need to protect, you may want to consider filing a patent. The two most common of types of patents are: * Utility patent: for processes, machines, articles of manufacture or composition of matter. The invention has to be both novel and non-obvious. * Design patent: protects the ornamental and appearance aspects of products, not their function. Copyright A copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to authors of "original works of authorship." This includes published and unpublished literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual work, but does not extend to ideas, methods, or systems. Trademark A trademark is anything that is used, or intended to be used, to identify the goods of one manufacturer from the goods of others, and can include words, names, symbols and logos. As long as trademarks are used in commerce, unlike patents, they can be renewed forever. Before applying for a trademark, find out if anyone else already claims trademark rights for a particular mark. Once you’ve settled on an unclaimed trademark, you must create a draft including the description of goods and/or services to which the trademark will be applied. A trademark is an important business tool because it allows you to establish your product's reputation without having to worry that an inferior product will diminish its reputation. Remember that anything which distinctly identifies your company can be a trademark, provided that it is used for goods Good luck with your new small business. Cheers, Rebecca The Microsoft SMB Outreach Team

names may not be coyrighted. Trademarked, maybe.

You should search the database of US federal trademark registrations for anything that looks or sounds like your company name. For instance, "BRATZ" sounds like "BRATS" and would likely be rejected if you file for registration in any class of goods or services that are related to the other existing brand. There are also international databases and state databases that you can search, and don't forget to do a good run using yahoo/google/jeeves/bing and whatever other search engines you can think of. Make sure you're not going to be "competing" with anyone who already has a similar name for similar goods. You can file a US Intent-to-use trademark application, which will reserve the priority of your federal rights from the date you file, in addition to your common-law US rights from the date you first actually use your brand on things in commerce. Your registration will not be issued until you supplement the application with proof of actual use, typically required within three years or so from initial filing.