Someone Is Using My Business Name in California. Can I Stop Them?
Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).
Often you can, but the DBA filing is rarely what stops them. A California fictitious business name statement gives the first filer who actually operates under the name a rebuttable presumption of the exclusive right to it, in that county only. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14411.) Most of these disputes turn on who used the name first in the market and whether customers are likely to be confused. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. handles business name disputes for owners in Orange County, Los Angeles, and across California.
Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss a company using your business name, or a letter accusing you of using someone else's.
Three name filings that owners confuse
Most owners who call me about a copied name hold one of three pieces of paper and assume it settles the matter. Each one does a different job.
The entity name is the name of your corporation or LLC in the Secretary of State's records. The Secretary of State refuses a corporate name it finds likely to mislead the public, or one that is not distinguishable in its records from names already on file. (Corp. Code, § 201, subd. (b).) LLC names face the same test. (Corp. Code, § 17701.08, subd. (b).) Nobody checks whether a sole proprietor two blocks away has traded under the name for a decade.
The fictitious business name, or DBA, is filed with the county clerk. Anyone who regularly does business for profit under a fictitious name must file the statement within 40 days of starting. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17910.) The statute says the filing is designed to let the public learn who is behind the name. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17900.)
A trademark is the third thing, and the one most directly aimed at stopping a competitor. It is the name as customers use it to tell your business from the others.
What a DBA filing gives you
Less than most people expect, but not nothing. Suppose you were first to file a statement containing the name in your county, and you actually do business under it there. The law then presumes you hold the exclusive right to that name, and to confusingly similar ones, in that county. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14411.) The presumption only shifts the burden of producing evidence. A competitor can try to rebut it, usually with proof that it was using the name before you were.
The presumption stops at the county line. A statement generally expires five years after filing, or 40 days after most changes in the facts it states. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17920.) And filing one does not, by itself, authorize you to use a name that violates someone else's trademark or common law rights. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14418.)
What a corporate name on file gives you
A corporation that was first to file articles containing its name, and that actually does business under it, gets a similar rebuttable presumption statewide. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14415.) That section is written for corporations, so an LLC should not assume it applies.
When a corporation and a DBA registrant both qualify in one county, whichever filed first and actually uses the name gets the presumption there. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14416.)
Articles of incorporation are not a license either. Filing them does not authorize a corporate name that violates another's trademark, fictitious name, or common law rights. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14417.)
Who wins a business name dispute: first use and confusion
Presumptions get you into the fight. They rarely finish it.
Rights in a name come from using it, and California's trademark statute leaves common law rights intact. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14259.) The business that used the name first in a market generally has priority there, whatever was filed later. Our page on unregistered trademark rights explains how far a local reputation reaches.
Priority is half of the case. Confusion is the other half. Federal law gives a civil claim against anyone whose use of a name in commerce is likely to confuse people about affiliation, origin, or sponsorship, and no registration is required. (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A).) A plumber and a bakery can often share a name because nobody would mix them up. The closer the names, the services, and the territory, the stronger the claim. Our likelihood of confusion page lists the factors.
How these disputes start
An owner forms an LLC, gets the name accepted by the Secretary of State, and letters the trucks. Then a demand arrives from a sole proprietor who never filed anything but has a decade of invoices and reviews under the name. The newer filing does not, by itself, beat the older use.
A restaurant lets its statement lapse, and a rival files the same name with the county during the gap. The lapse may cost the restaurant its presumption. It does not necessarily cost the restaurant its rights, which rest on use.
Steps to take before a lawsuit
Collect dated proof of your first use: the first invoice, the lease, the sign permit. Find out when the other business started from county records, the Secretary of State's database, and archived web pages. Log misdirected calls, reviews, and payments.
Then send a measured letter. Many of these disputes end with a changed name or an agreed territory, and our page on trademark cease and desist letters explains what to put in one. We litigate name disputes and do not run a filing practice, but our registration guide explains what a trademark registration adds.
Do not sit on it. Courts are less sympathetic to an owner who watched a competitor build under the name for years.
If you are the business accused of taking the name
The same rules protect you. Your county filing or your articles are not a defense by themselves, but the other side's filings are not conclusive proof of ownership either. Check who used the name first and where, and whether the two customer bases overlap. Answer the letter in writing, and do not rebrand or dig in until you know who has priority.
What to bring to the first meeting
- Your fictitious business name statement, articles, and any trademark registration.
- The earliest dated evidence that you used the name.
- Screenshots of the other business's name in use, with dates.
- Any record of customers confusing the two businesses, and letters already exchanged.
Frequently asked questions
Another business in my county has almost the same name as mine, and I filed my DBA first. Can I make them stop?
Possibly. In California, the first business to file a fictitious business name statement in a county, if it actually operates under the name there, is presumed to hold the exclusive right to it in that county. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14411.) The other business can rebut that with earlier use, so the outcome usually depends on priority and likely confusion.
Does registering a DBA protect my business name in California?
Only a little. A California fictitious business name statement tells the public who operates the business. It carries a rebuttable, county-wide presumption for the first filer who is actually using the name, and it generally expires after five years. It does not create trademark rights or permit a name that infringes someone else's. (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 14411, 14418, 17920.)
The Secretary of State approved my LLC name. Does that mean no other California business can use it?
No. California's Secretary of State checks whether an entity name is distinguishable from other names in its own records and not likely to mislead the public. The statutes compare the name with other entity names on file, not with sole proprietors, county DBA filings, or trademark use. A business that used the name first in your market may still have superior rights.
Can two businesses have the same name in California?
Yes, in many situations. Two companies can use the same name when their services, customers, and territories are far enough apart that confusion is unlikely. Trouble starts when the names, the lines of business, and the geography overlap. California and federal law then generally favor whoever used the name first in that market.
How do I stop someone from using my business name?
Start with evidence: dated proof of your first use and examples of confusion. A written demand resolves many California name disputes. If it does not, the usual claims are trade name and trademark infringement under state law and the federal Lanham Act, with an injunction as the main remedy. (15 U.S.C. § 1125(a)(1)(A); Bus. & Prof. Code, § 14402.)
Talk to a California trademark litigation attorney
If another company is trading under your name, or you have been told to stop using yours, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is at 327 Magnet, Irvine, CA 92618, and represents businesses in Orange County, Los Angeles, and throughout California. Related pages: our IP litigation practice and the Orange County trademark lawyer page.
This page provides general information about California and federal law on business names and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on who used the name first, the market, and the court.