You’ve picked a nice little name for your business. Now let’s make sure you can legally use it. Otherwise, down the road, your small business might get sued by the name’s real owner, who may force you to stop using it. Worse, the owner might haul your business into court in another state, at your expense, and sue for damages and attorney’s fees. In the end, that nice little trademark that you picked could spell disaster. Try and prevent that from happening.

• Get a free copy of Basic Facts About Trademarks. Call the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), (800) 786-9199. Listen to the automated messages. If you want to speak to a service representative, though, call early or you could rot waiting for somebody to pick up.

• Think of a unique name. “The less descriptive it is, the easier it is to protect,” said Ian D. Titley, a partner at Williams, Mullen, Clark & Dobbins in Richmond, VA. (www.wmcd.com) The name, Exxon, is a good example. A reference library: Search the “Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademarks.” Your Secretary of State: Ask how to do a state search.

• Got money to spend? Go to www.micropat.com, site of MicroPatent in East Haven, CT. Do a 24-hour MarkSearch for $35. Click “new user.” Search both federal and state databases. Click for a report of the findings. Or hire an intellectual property lawyer. Count on paying about $1,000-$2,000 for a thorough search, including registration and filing costs. Law firms use huge privately owned databases and professional search firms.

• Try different search phrases. If you tap in the names incorrectly, an unforgiving search system may return the wrong results. If it reports that no one owns the name and you send off the $325 PTO registration fee, then six months later a letter arrives denying your registration because somebody does own it, you've lost your money. Always click on “help” first for effective search techniques.

• Search the Internet before hiring an attorney. You might be able to eliminate some of your name choices. You'd have wasted your time and money having an attorney search them.

• Don't confuse a domain name with a trademark. They're not the same, according to Lynn Tellefsen, MicroPatent's director of marketing. “The law says the owner of a valid trademark registration has the right to the domain name,” she says. So a trademark holder “can go to a dot.com company and say, “‘Give me that name.’” Avoid disputes by registering a domain name and trademark at the same time, Tellefsen advises. Search and register a domain name at www.netsol.com, site of Virginia-based Net Solutions Inc. It costs $119 for two years.

• Keep your registration updated. Once you’ve got your name registered, subsequent filings are required to keep the registration alive, says John W. Burke, a partner at Richmond, VA.-based McGuire, Woods, Battle&Boothe (www.mwbb.com). An affidavit or declaration must be filed, along with a filing fee.

• Search periodically to see if anyone is infringing on your mark. You may ignore it, fire off a cease and desist letter or file a lawsuit, says Burke. Now do your homework. Pick a unique name, search multiple databases to be sure you can use it, then get properly registered and keep your registration alive.