So, I want to create a name and buy a domain for a website to use currently. However, in the future I would like it to be a business so that way I can self-publish. Do I need to create an LLC if I already own the domain? Can someone legally create an LLC with the same name as my domain? Just trying to understand what the difference is between an LLC and a business
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5Why do you need a business to "self-publish"?– GreendrakeCommented May 8, 2023 at 7:44
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1Why do you think businesses take priority over current ownership? If you register "PartickMiller.com", I very much doubt that if I registered "PatrickMiller" as a company name, I would have any standing. Then again, that might depend on juristiction, you may want to post yours.– nvoigtCommented May 8, 2023 at 8:06
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@nvoigt if our Patrick Miller registers patrickmiller.com and then, before he uses the domain for any business or conducts any other business under his name, someone else wants to create an LLC called "Patrick Miller," there will be very little to stop the other person (much less if the other person's name is also Patrick Miller).– phoogCommented May 8, 2023 at 10:03
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1 Answer
Do I need to create an LLC if I already own the domain?
No.
Can someone legally create an LLC with the same name as my domain?
Yes.
Just trying to understand what the difference is between an LLC and a business
An LLC, a "limited liability company," is a kind of legal entity that has a separate identity from the members of the LLC. The members' liability is limited with respect to the company's liability, hence the name.
A business is a commercial activity. The two concepts are independent. A person can have a business without forming a corporation, or indeed many businesses. A single corporation can also have many businesses.
Back to the question about someone forming an LLC using your domain name, this raises the issue of trademark protection. In the US, at least, you can't register a trademark unless it is "in use in commerce" (15 USC 1051(a)(3)(C)), which means explicitly that you cannot use the mark "merely to reserve a right in" it (15 USC 1127).
But there are many subtleties of trademark protection that are widely misunderstood by most people, so if you anticipate wanting trademark protection for a name, you will probably want to learn about how trademark protection works and likely talk to a trademark lawyer.
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A very minor quibble: An LLC is actually not a corporation. It's a different kind of legal entity authorized to do business.– bdb484Commented May 8, 2023 at 17:13
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@bdb484 thanks, I was operating under the misapprehension that the "C" in "LLC" stood for "corporation." I will edit.– phoogCommented May 8, 2023 at 17:57
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I made the same mistake early in my career and really got an earful for it.– bdb484Commented May 8, 2023 at 22:30