Also what are the costs, and what happens if someone uses your copyrighted name? Thanks :)

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Actually, you cannot copyright a company name. The rule for copyright is: All original work in tangible form is covered by the Copyright Act. Tangible form means something that you can touch, or something material. Material could be a book, or a piece of paper, or a Web site or a sculpture. But it can't be your thoughts and ideas, no matter how great they may be. In other words you would have to check with your state for a list of business names. Where I live, if there are two or more companies with the same name, they must be separated within XX amount of miles between them. This is the only rule. Sure hope this helped.

Company names are protected by Trademark. To get a federal trademark is an involved process and expensive. It has to be in all respects unique and not on file as being in use anywhere else. What most companies do is just search the Trademark database to be sure the name is NOT already filed. Then go to your states' Secretary of State office and request a search. Many states have the data on-line. If you are a corporation, your name has to be accepted by the Secretary of State office and not duplicate another enterprise. If not a corporation, or you need a name not the corporation name, the same office will usually file a "ficticious name" statement or the equivalent to a corporation name. This will give some protection against competition trashing your business name and generally not expensive.