Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Virginia

For this example, let’s say I am the owner of Apple, LLC and the www.Bananas.com domain. I will sell digital products via www.Bananas.com but invoice as Apple, LLC, which is a 100% online business. I will brand as Bananas (without the .com) across my digital products and social media profiles but use Apple, LLC for payments and taxes. Do I need a DBA for Apple, LLC for Bananas, regardless if I own www.Bananas.com?


Asked on 7/08/23, 7:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Frank Natoli Natoli-Legal, LLC

The .com is just an asset of the entity that owns and operates it. A DBA will not be needed if the underlying limited liability entity is made clear like for example in the footer of your webpages it states " Bananas.com is a property of Apple..." But if you are only doing business under the domain name with no reference to the actual entity on file then I would suggest you file a DBA in that case.

You also have to consider the trademark implications of what you are doing. Make sure you are clear to use whatever name you decide to and not just assume it is clear to use because you filed something with the state.

If you need help or clarification, feel free to contact me anytime that is convenient.

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Kind regards,

Frank

www.LanternLegal.com

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DISCLAIMER: this is not intended to be specific legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. No attorney-client relationship is formed on the basis of this posting.

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Answered on 7/10/23, 10:03 am


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