Your Business Name Isn't Automatically Protected: What Oregon and Idaho Owners Need to Know About Intellectual Property

Feb 25

You picked the perfect name. You built the brand. You put it on your website, your signage, your invoices.

And then someone else starts using it.

Or you get a cease-and-desist letter telling you you're the one infringing on their trademark.

Either scenario is expensive, disruptive, and—more often than not—entirely preventable. But most small business owners in Oregon and Idaho never think about intellectual property until something goes wrong.

This post won't turn you into an IP attorney. What it will do is help you understand the basics that actually come up in small business ownership: trademarks, trade secrets, and copyrights. And more importantly, it'll help you avoid the mistakes that catch business owners off guard.

Registering Your LLC Is Not the Same as Protecting Your Name

This is the most common misconception I see.

When you form an LLC in Oregon or Idaho, the state makes sure no other LLC in that state is using the same name. That's it. That's the only thing it does for your name.

It does not give you trademark rights. It does not stop a business in another state from using the same name. It does not stop someone in your own state from using the same name as a sole proprietor or DBA. And it will not protect you if someone who already has a federal trademark on that name sends you a letter demanding you stop using it.

Trademark rights come from use in commerce and, more importantly, from federal registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). State registration is a separate, weaker option—but for most small businesses, federal registration is what actually matters.

What a Trademark Does (and Doesn't) Cover

A trademark protects brand identifiers—names, logos, slogans—that distinguish your goods or services from others in the marketplace.

If you have a registered federal trademark, you get:

The exclusive right to use that mark in connection with your goods or services nationwide
A legal presumption that you own the mark and it's valid
The ability to sue in federal court for infringement
The right to use the ® symbol

Without registration, you still have some common law rights in the geographic area where you actually do business. But those rights are limited, harder to enforce, and won't stop someone in another market from using the same name.

One important caveat: trademarks are category-specific. "Cascade" as a name for a plumbing company and "Cascade" as a name for a hiking gear brand are different marks in different categories. A trademark attorney can help you understand whether a name you want to use is truly clear—or whether it's likely to create problems down the road.

The Search You Should Do Before You Spend Money on Branding

Before you finalize a business name, logo, or product name, search the USPTO's trademark database (it's called TESS, now part of the USPTO's online search system). Look for registered marks that are similar to yours in your industry.

"Similar" is the key word. You don't need an identical match for there to be a conflict. If a mark is similar enough that customers might be confused about the source of the goods or services, that's a problem.

You should also search the web and social media. A business that's been using a name for years without registering it may still have common law rights—and may have a stronger claim to the name than you, even without a registration.

This search is not something most business owners do on their own with full confidence. But even a basic review before you commit to a name can save you from a costly rebrand later.

Trade Secrets: The Protection You Already Have (If You Use It Right)

Not every business asset is a brand name. Some of your most valuable business information—your pricing model, your client list, your internal processes, your supplier relationships—may qualify as a trade secret.

Both Oregon and Idaho have adopted versions of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which means you have legal protection for confidential business information that gives you a competitive advantage, as long as you take reasonable steps to keep it secret.

That second part is critical. The law does not protect information you've been careless with.

Reasonable steps typically include:

Using confidentiality clauses in your contracts with employees and contractors (this is one reason the independent contractor agreements we covered in Part 2 of this series matter so much)
Limiting access to sensitive information on a need-to-know basis
Using password protection and basic digital security measures
Marking documents as confidential when appropriate

You don't need to be paranoid. But you do need to be intentional. If a former employee or contractor takes your client list and starts competing with you, your ability to stop them legally depends significantly on whether you had protections in place beforehand.

Copyright: The Protection You Already Have (Whether You Know It or Not)

Here's something most business owners don't realize: copyright protection attaches automatically the moment you create original work and fix it in a tangible form. That includes your website copy, your marketing materials, your photos, your written proposals, your training documents.

You don't need to register. You don't need to put a © symbol on it (though it's a good idea).

What registration does give you is the ability to sue for statutory damages and attorney's fees if someone infringes your work—which makes enforcement practical rather than theoretical. Without registration, you can still sue, but you're limited to your actual damages, which can be hard to prove and often aren't worth the litigation cost.

For most small businesses, the copyright question that actually comes up isn't "how do I protect my own work?" It's the reverse: Who owns the content a contractor created for you?

Under federal copyright law, the default answer is: the contractor. Not you.

If a freelance designer built your website, a photographer shot your product photos, or a writer drafted your content—and you don't have a written agreement that includes a work-for-hire clause or an assignment of rights—you may not own what you paid for. This is one of the most common and easily preventable IP problems I see in small business work.

What to Actually Do With This Information

You don't need to become an IP expert. But here's a practical checklist:

Before you launch or rebrand:

Search the USPTO trademark database for your business name and any product names
Do a basic web and social media search for the same
Talk to an attorney if anything looks close

When you hire contractors:

Make sure your independent contractor agreements include clear language about ownership of work product
Don't assume you own it just because you paid for it

To protect your trade secrets:

Use confidentiality agreements with employees and contractors
Take basic steps to limit and document access to sensitive information

For your own created content:

Consider registering copyrights for high-value original work (especially if you'd actually enforce against infringement)

The Bottom Line

IP protection isn't just for tech startups and Fortune 500 companies. For a small business in Eugene, Boise, or anywhere in between, your brand name, your client relationships, and the content you've built are real business assets—and they can be taken or challenged if you haven't protected them.

The good news is that the foundational steps aren't complicated or expensive. A quick trademark search, a solid contractor agreement, and some basic confidentiality practices go a long way.

If you're not sure where your business stands, that's a good conversation to have before something goes wrong.

Track Town Law helps Oregon and Idaho small business owners build legal foundations that last. Have questions about protecting your brand or business information? Contact us or book a consultation.

The information in this post is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this content.

Jared Hight https://www.tracktownlaw.com