The blog post on TechCrunch about Intel filing a lawsuit against Intellife got me thinking about how the process for naming a company attempts to prevent confusion in the marketplace. In our office, we have a number of employees by the name of "Julie" and an employee by the name of "Julia," and this situation has the potential to create confusion. In order to prevent this, what if the process for naming a person was similar to the process for naming a company?
When naming a child, there currently are very few limitations to selecting the moniker. Parents have the right to choose a common, traditional name such as Mike and Mary or an uncommon name like Kyd or Apple. Parents don’t need to ensure that no one is already using the moniker. They don’t have to worry whether or not there will be confusion between two similar sounding names such as Aaron and Erin. They also don’t have to consider whether the child will stay within the state or whether they need to select a name that will work nationally – or internationally.
In the real world, once parents pick a name for their child, the name goes on the birth certificate and the process is complete. Parents don’t have to go through the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the name, and they don’t have to wait months for the moniker to be officially trademarked. They also don’t need to get lawyers involved in the naming process. In fact, the cost of hiring a lawyer would likely prevent many parents from even giving their child a name. Talk about confusion!
It’s a good thing naming a child is nothing like naming a company.
Monica Wasiljew, Manager, Brand Strategy & Research
