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Search For Companies By Name, Industry, Subject, or Location

One Stop License Search (Michigan)
Not every business in Michigan is required to be licensed by the State of Michigan. To find out if your new venture requires a state license, use the alphabetical directory provided below to find your occupation. You can also use the search box above to search this site.

Toll-Free # Lookup For Businesses (See If they Have One)
Can also call 1-800-555-1212.

www.Switchboard.com

www.companiesonline.com

www.infospace.com

www.theultimates.com

Corporate Consumer Contacts (List Of Addresses & Links To Their Headquarters)
Must scroll down alphabetical list.

Information On US & International Companies
Find the company behind the brand name, where they're located, their financial info, their officers, subsidiaries, who they advertise with, what media they use, and more.

Thomas' Food Industry Register can tell a company's name, address and phone number, the products it produces and the government agencies that regulate both the products and the company itself.

U.S. Tax Court (1986-Present)
Persons involved in litigation with the IRS may be found here. If a case is found, the actual court file may contain tax returns or other important financial information.

Find The Company Behind Textile, Fur & Wool Products (RN Lookup)
A registered identification number or RN is a number issued by the Federal Trade Commission, upon request, to a business residing in the U.S. that is engaged in the manufacture, importing, distribution, or sale of textile, wool, or fur products. Such businesses are not required to have RNs. They may, however, use the RN in place of a name on the label or tag that is required to be affixed to these products.

See Also People Search Find or Background A Business

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Trademarks

General Information

Differences Between Patents, Trademarks & Copyrights
How to protect your name, invention or creative work.

Trademarks & Business Goodwill (SBA)

Avoiding Patent, Trademark & Copyright Problems (SBA)
Learn how to avoid infringing the rights of others and the importance of protecting your own rights.
 

Detecting When A Website Changes: The Past, The Present And The Future (Consumer-SOS)
Knowing what a defendant’s website looks like, past, present and future can be useful to show the company knew of the incident, acted in bad faith or never acted at all.  Changes could also show the defendant had knowledge of the patent, or that their idea, invention or policy  “spontaneously developed” or was the result of a number of iterations.

State

Please note that State trademarks offer nowhere near the same protection as Federally Registered Trademarks.

Search For State Trademarks Held By Others (All 50 States)
State trademarks are often found at your Secretary of State's Office.  Usually this information can be found under "Trademarks" or "Trade names & Service marks."

Trademark Laws in 28 states (must scroll down) 

Federal 

Basic Facts About Federal Trademarks

Federal Trademarks-Frequently Asked Questions

Search For Federal Trademarks Held By Others

Registering International Trademarks (Consumer-SOS)

Trademark Search In Other Countries
Search for and find out who own US, Canadian and European Trademarks.

Search For Common Law Trademarks Within Domain Names
Search for word strings within a domain name. Domain
Surfer provides results for registered domains in the .com, .net, and
.org categories.  It does not return results for domain with "on-hold"
status.


Internet

Domain Names & Trademark Law (Nolo.com)
Here's what website builders need to know about trademark law. 

Finding The Guy Who Owns That Domain Name.
To find the name and address of a domain name owner, you can use the WHOIS search service provided by NSI.

Simply enter the domain name and your search results will include a contact name, phone number, address and email address for the domain name's owner.

For More See The Internet/Domain Names

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Trade Secrets

Protecting Your Trade Secrets (Nolo)

Detecting When A Website Changes: The Past, The Present And The Future (Consumer-SOS)
Knowing what a defendant’s website looks like, past, present and future can be useful to show the company knew of the incident, acted in bad faith or never acted at all.  Changes could also show the defendant had knowledge of the patent, or that their idea, invention or policy  “spontaneously developed” or was the result of a number of iterations.

See Other Information

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Patents

Differences Between Patents, Trademarks & Copyrights
How to protect your name, invention or creative work.

US Patent Database 
Search for existing patents by the name of the owner, the patent number or patent description.

Detecting When A Website Changes: The Past, The Present And The Future (Consumer-SOS)
Knowing what a defendant’s website looks like, past, present and future can be useful to show the company knew of the incident, acted in bad faith or never acted at all.  Changes could also show the defendant had knowledge of the patent, or that their idea, invention or policy  “spontaneously developed” or was the result of a number of iterations.

Patents And Your Rights (Nolo Articles)

Avoiding Patent, Trademark & Copyright Problems (SBA)
Learn how to avoid infringing the rights of others and the importance of protecting your own rights.

See Other Information

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Copyrights

Differences Between Patents, Trademarks & Copyrights
How to protect your name, invention or creative work.

The US Copyright Office
Search for copyrights or file your own. Also has frequently asked questions about copyrights.

Detecting When A Website Changes: The Past, The Present And The Future (Consumer-SOS)
Knowing what a defendant’s website looks like, past, present and future can be useful to show the company knew of the incident, acted in bad faith or never acted at all.  Changes could also show the defendant had knowledge of the patent, or that their idea, invention or policy  “spontaneously developed” or was the result of a number of iterations.

The Educator's Guide To Copyright & Fair Use

The Copyright Fair Use Center
All about what's fair use and how to obtain permission.

Avoiding Patent, Trademark & Copyright Problems (SBA)
Learn how to avoid infringing the rights of others and the importance of protecting your own rights.

See Other Information

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Other Legal Matters (Business Name and Protecting Intellectual Property)

General Forms For All Occasions (The 'Lectric Law Library)
Scroll down their forms page for forms on general business matters, living wills, power of attorney, promissory notes, employment and contracting.

Small Business-Find Answers To Many Of Today's Most Common Legal Problems
Learn about: Avoiding Litigation, Preventing Wrongful Discharge Suits, Financing a Business, Firing an Employee, Forming a Partnership or Corporation, Hiring an Employee, IRS Audits, Debt Collection, Starting a Business, Tax Returns and more.

Online Brochures On Over 100 Business Issues (SBA)

Other Intellectual Property Links (With Descriptions)

Find The SBA Office Nearest You (All 50 States & DC)

Find Your Secretary Of State (All 50 States)
Your Secretary Of State often has information on corporations & incorporating, state trademarks and licensing boards.

Brand Name Lookup (Ad Redbook Homepage)
At the mid-top of the page click on brand name lookup and find the company behind the product. Then call 1800-555-1212 for the company's toll free #. 

Thomas' Food Industry Register can tell a company's name, address and phone number, the products it produces and the government agencies that regulate both the products and the company itself.

Information On US & International Companies
Find the company behind the brand name, where they're located, their financial info, their officers, subsidiaries, who they advertise with, what media they use, and more. Refers you to a library-May have to buy or reserve the book.

For More Resources & Great Tips, Check Out  Nolo.com

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Introduction and Overview

To get world wide trademark protection in over 80 countries, you'll want to take advantage of the two major treaties on trademarks.  By doing so you can secure your trademarks through registration in two nations instead of eighty.

The first major treaty is called the Madrid System of International Registration, and it involves almost 70 countries.  The Second and far smaller treaty is for TM protection throughout the European Union.

Madrid is governed by The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  TM protection within the EU is governed by The Office for the Harmonization of the Internal Market (OHIM).

Please note there is substantial overlap between Madrid and OHIM, especially for those countries within the European Union. You will need a lawyer to decide which one is best for you.

There may of course be other treaties for nations outside of Madrid or OHIM.  One example of such is the Paris Convention. But if you can't find a treaty for the countries you're applying for, your only option is to file separate applications with each of these respective countries. 

And if you're filing with a non-treaty nation, it is likely you will be required to use one of their own lawyers and file the application in their native language. 


EUROPEAN UNION TRADEMARK INFORMATION (OHIM)

For an overview check out www.hg.org/1413.html
and www.slw.dk/english/european.htm



FOR INFORMATION ON THE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORG (WIPO)and the Madrid Union

List Of Madrid Member Nations 

Fees For Filing Under Madrid

General Information On Madrid

www.wipo.int/madrid/en/index.html

www.wipo.int/eng/newindex/madrid.htm

Trademark Protection In Other Countries Not Listed Above

Trademark Law In Countries Not In Madrid or OHIM

For Existing International Trademark Treaties including the Paris convention

For Actual Members of the Paris Convention
Patience. The long downloading time is worth the wait!

International Treaties to Protect Patents & Trademarks

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Related Topics
Contracts
Credit & Debt
Lawyers, Courts & Self Help
Occupational Licensing Boards
Public Records
Scams & Cons
Taxes
The Work Place


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Business Resources

Michigan Business One Stop
An array of resources and tools to help you start and operate a business in Michigan.  From tips on writing a business plan to financing your business, our resource center has it all.

The U.S. Small Business Administration                                 
Their service core of retired executives gives valuable free advice and referrals.  Learn how to incorporate, obtain a loan, make effective business proposals, presentations and where and how to advertise.  The U.S. Small Business   Administration also offers low cost seminars for those who need more information on these subjects.

E-LOAN  
Licensed in at least 40 states, E-LOAN allows consumers to apply for a a small business loan via e-mail. On this site, consumers can search for the best rates on everything from mortgages to credit cards to home equity loans. It costs nothing to apply for a loan and your application will get a response within 24 to 48 hours.

The Federal Information Center (800) 688-9889 or (800) 388-2222  
Call this agency for information about any federal program. They will also direct you to the appropriate federal help agency. i.e. for problems concerning discrimination, disability, taxes, etc.

The Consumer Information Center (800) 664-4435 Check out their free consumer publications. Get Their free book with important federal, state and non-profit help agencies.  They also have a consumer help line  open between 10 am. and 2 pm., Eastern Standard Time.  

The Federal Web Locator
Through this web site, cyberconsumers can link to the electronic doorsteps of federal departments, agencies, commissions and quasi official agencies.

The Aspen Institute (202) 736-5800
This non-profit group lists 328 microenterprise programs that extend small loans to help businesses get started.  Their directory of Micro Enterprise programs costs $15.

The Council On Foundations (202) 466-6512
Provides contact numbers for local foundations.

Foundation Center (800) 424-9836   
The Foundation Center can direct you free of charge, to the organizations most likely to give grants to your cause.  Their directories will help you locate grant makers by subject, geographic area and a variety of other factors.  

The Foundation Center will answer quick reference question over the phone, but it won't do your research for you.  It's up to you to make your own personal list of potential donors based on what you find in their library.  The Foundation Center also has information on how to set up and manage foundations and other types of non-profit organizations.

Guidestar (800) 421-8656 or (800) 424-9836 Guidestar gathers and disseminates information on over a million 501(C)(3) organizations. Guidestar's extensive database classifies each organization by subject and can find donor organizations willing to assist you.

For information on Small Business Investment Companies which provide equity-capital, long term loans, debt equity   investments and management assistance to small business, write to:   

Investment Division
U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 Third St., SW

Washington, DC 20416 or check out www.sba.gov/inv
on the Internet. 

Free Money To Change Your Life, by Matthew Lesko
This book lists 15,000 federal and state programs that provide free money to help people look for work or start businesses.