united-states copyright business trademark
Legality of a Business Name inspired by fictional characters
<p>Let's say I wanted to start a new business named "Natasha, Inc" whose core product was spy hardware and software. Or maybe one named "Howard, LLC" whose core purpose was inventing new technologies.</p>

<p>Both of these examples use the first names of comic book characters (Black Widow and Howard Stark) whose business purpose is related to the character's role in the comic book stories.</p>

<p>Neither company would ever publicize a relation between the name and the comic book character, or use any character art/stories in marketing or products, though fans (and certainly Marvel Comics/Disney) would likely draw the conclusion themselves.</p>

<p>Both first names above do already have multiple trademarks registered for their names, i.e., Howard and Natasha, for use in many various industries.</p>

<p>A real example is the company <a href="https://www.starkequipment.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Stark Equipment</a> who has <a href="http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&amp;state=4810:w5u4gp.3.9" rel="nofollow noreferrer">registered the service mark for "Stark"</a>. The company name and use are obvious references to "Stark Industries" from Iron Man (first use was 1963). But maybe they are just waiting for the lawsuit.</p>

<p><a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/5044/naming-products-after-fictional-objects-or-characters">This question</a> is similar, but asks about a name that isn't a <em>common</em> name (the name was invented by the author of LOTR).</p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/page/about-trademark-infringement" rel="nofollow noreferrer">USPTO states that</a> "Trademark infringement is the unauthorized use of a trademark or service mark on or in connection with goods and/or services in a manner that is likely to cause confusion, deception, or mistake about the source of the goods and/or services." That is comforting, though I'm still concerned that there may be other legal risks of using a pop-culture character name in this manner.</p>

<p><strong>Is there any legal precedent protecting or preventing the use of common first names that are also used in popular culture (when such use draws inspiration from the pop culture)?</strong></p>

<p>A trade mark is infringed where there is the reasonable possibility of confusion between the trade marked goods and services and the infringer's goods and services.</p>

<p>For a company named Glorfindel, there is. For one named Natasha, there isn't.</p>
