What is the average cost to obtain a business name trademark? If I file for a business name at the county courthouse, does this provide some protection from others that might try to use that business name? 
 
Thanks, 
Don

Don, thanks for your post. The cost of a business name trademark depends on several things. The first is do you already have a solid name that is going to position yourself as a leader in your industry. If not, you will obviously want to hire a company like Brandwise to help you develop a name and a logo for your company, product or service.  
 
The next thing would be talking to an Intellectual Property Attorney like John Lindsay (the writer of this article, see his contact info above). The IP Attorney can help you with some of the research and the actual filing of the name. Before we throw a price out, we would like to discuss your specific needs and find out where you fall in the process. 
 
As far as filing at a county courthouse, this is something every business should do. It may provide a little protection, but this is not the same as a formal trademark. To start maybe you file at the courthouse and add the "TM" symbol at the end of your name or logo. This will help a little more, but you still will need to go through the formal registration to fully cover yourself.

I would like to add a couple of minor details. First, even though we are using the phrase "at the courthouse," the location where the name of a business entity is filed may vary. Limited liability companies, partnerships, corporations, proprietorships, and assumed names may not be filed at the same location. Thus, the "courthouse" where business names are filed can vary. 
 
Second, to answer your question, filing that business name provides some limited protection, though it may not be desirable. Depending on where the business name is filed, that "courthouse" may not permit subsequent businesses from using that same name. Thus some protection is afforded from other entities seeking to use the same name who file at that same "courthouse." 
 
However, one of the deficiencies in relying on that form of protection is that one business may file a business name at the county "courthouse" and a second business may file with the state "courthouse." This is one aspect of the limits of using that approach as protection. 
 
To illustrate the difference in use of a business name versus branding, think of "AMR Corporation" and "American Airlines." AMR is the holding company for American Airlines. Except Dallas/Ft Worth residents and financially savvy people, not a lot of people know about AMR. However, most people know the American Airlines name because "American Airlines" is part of the branding to the end consumer and has a separate use and value than "AMR."