Law360, New York ( December 3, 2012, 12:13 PM EST) -- Every business has a name. An LLC and a corporation have names that have been approved and registered by, at least, one secretary of state's office. For many businesses, these names are also the "brand" through which they advertise and market their products and services. But many companies, despite building an entire business based upon a brand identity, have done nothing to protect their brand identities properly or to ensure that the company names and brands they adopt and use do not infringe upon prior existing names and brands. Following is a primer for every business owner and anyone who works with a company providing products and services to the public explaining why a trademark search is important before any name, mark, slogan, logo or other brand identifier is adopted and used....