Seattle salon shares trademark warning for small businesses; King5.com, 9/1/16

[Video] Heather Graf, King5.com; Seattle salon shares trademark warning for small businesses:

""The fact that they're spelled differently in this case really doesn't offer much protection," said attorney Robert Cumbow of Miller Nash Graham & Dunn. "How much do they look alike? How much do they sound alike? How close are they in meaning? And in this case, they look a lot alike. There's one extra extra letter in them. And they sound identical."

Cumbow said he knows it's a costly and frustrating experience for small business owners. His advice is for those business owners to do extensive research before choosing the name of their company.

"You've got to do your homework," he said. "So the very first thing for someone who is choosing a name for their business, product, or services is to get a search done, and make sure you aren't accidentally picking a name or product name that somebody else is already using.""