Also known as a commercial name. The name that a business or company uses to identify itself in commerce. A business may use its legal name or a fictitious business name (also known as a DBA (short for doing business as) or an assumed name) as its trade name.

A trade name is not eligible for federal trademark registration under the Lanham Trademark Act unless that trade name also functions as a trademark or service mark.

For more on trademark protection in general, see Practice Note: Trademark Overview.