you only have one employee (yourself). Anyone that is used to make a film are volunteers.
I want to name my production company but since I am the only person to have anything to do with it....What avenue would I take? I could sit back and just use the name until someone else tells me I cannot...but if the name I choose isn't in use that I know of - I would like to file it someplace for the future...since I really like the name and don't want someone else to get it legal.
So: For one person who is running everything from their home computor but wants to legalize a production company (in name only) for use on public television and whatever else...what would I do?
There is LLC but that is quite costly - and no employees.
Other than that, I am at a loss.
Well, all I know is that filing a trademark (in order to protect that name from being taken by someone else) cost a few hundred dollars at USPTO (US Patent & Trademark Office), plus whatever you need to pay to an attorney who will do this for you (it must be done by a lawyer licensed to practice law in your state). Nothing prevents you from setting up a business with one single employee (sole proprietor). It will depend on your state, but it is usually very simple and cheap.
The short version: You will fill out the paperwork, make the
required legal declarations and get to work. Use Google and
search "Fictions Business Name". You will file for a "Sole
Proprietorship".
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
If you don't have an LLC, then you don't have a "company"; you have a sole proprietorship. As for naming, before you get too far ahead of yourself and start applying for trade names and trade marks. you should wait and see if your business actually lasts more than a year or two. In the meantime, get a business licence from city hall, and they will reserve your business name. A business name, by the way, is NOT a trademark or tradename, but it is what you use for business purposes, as you "do business as" whatever that name is.
Also talk to an accountant about your expenses and receipts.
