North Texas Dentistry Volume 10 Issue 1 2020 ISSUE 1 DE | Page 14

legal corner
What’s in a Name?
C
Considerations in Selecting a Practice Name
hoosing a name for your
practice is one of the most
important and personal
decisions a practitioner
can make. A company
name will be something that you will see
every day. It can become a point of pride
amongst staff, a touchstone for patients,
and the easiest way to convey your com-
pany’s reputation to the industry and
marketplace. Your name will be the first
impression for everyone that comes into
contact with your practice. Choosing the
name for your practice doesn’t have to be
painful and, with a few guidelines, it can
even be a positive experience.
While choosing a name doesn’t have to be
painful, that doesn’t mean that it will be
easy. The naming of a practice has to
weigh various factors. Personal prefer-
ence, legal consideration, availability, and
by Taylor Shumway
effectiveness with patients are all factors
that could potentially derail an otherwise
outstanding practice name. Two consid-
erations should be taken into account
when you consider the legal implications
of your name, and I’ll identify these con-
siderations as a sword and a shield.
Nobody wants to choose a name that will
open a practice to an expensive rebrand
or an even more expensive lawsuit. You
want to make sure that you are not choos-
ing a name that could be seen as infring-
ing the intellectual property of another
practice. Practices with a low likelihood of
overlapping clientele might exist with
similar names, but if a practice receives
an errant online review, misplaced phone
call, or other communication that clearly
implicates a separate practice, guards go
up and potential conflicts arise. Choosing
a name that can avoid stepping on the
14 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
toes of another practice can save future
headaches. Once a business owner feels
that they are losing their goodwill to
another practice, it can be nearly impos-
sible to unring that bell. The monetary
and time costs of rebranding can be over-
whelming and litigation increases those
costs exponentially. Taking the time to
properly choose a business name can be
the shield that protects you from such
a concern.
A properly selected and protected busi-
ness name can be the sword that enables
a practitioner to aggressively protect their
intellectual property. Immediately after
you open your doors and offer services
under your chosen name, you can begin
to accrue rights that allow you to protect
the use of that name. Building the
strength of the name increases the
strength of the sword and your ability to