Business question

If you have registered the name of your business as a tradename with the State of Texas or have registered the name of your business as a Federal Trademark. you must enforce your tradename or trademark against all persons or other buisnesses who attempt to infringe upon it. You should hire a lawyer in Texas who can send a cease and desist letter to the buisness who is appropriating your tradename or trademark.

The short answer. as Lance notes, is yes.

I write to mention the difference between trade names (the name of a company) and trademarks (the word, phrase, logo, sound, etc. used to brand a product or service). Trade names are NOT registerable as trademarks unless the name also functions as a trademark.

Nonetheless, even if not registered as a trademark, trade names are protectable under both federal law (yes, the Lanham Act) and state law. Often state law has statutes specifically protecting trade names that have been registered as the name of a corporation or other business entity or as a fictitious business name. These provisions are very potent and may be more useful to assert than federal law when handling a trade name dispute.

In short, even if you have not registered your company name as a trademark you may be able to force the other company to change its name. A trademark attorney licensed to practice in your state will be able to tell you. Good luck.