- “The James Martin Family” is named as claimant for a genealogy. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant because “family” is an ambiguous term and the members of this group are not clearly defined.
- An application names “All Right Thinking People” as the claimant for an online message board. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant, because it is impossible to identify the members of this group.
619.13(G) Individual and Unincorporated Business Organization Provided in the Name of Claimant Field / Space
If an individual and an unincorporated business organization are named together in the Name of Claimant field/space, the application may be accepted if it seems likely that the organization is merely a trade name or other assumed name for the individual. As a general rule, the registration specialist will conclude that an individual and an unincorporated organization are the same legal entity if the applicant clearly states that the individual is “trading as,” “doing business as,” or “also known as” the organization or that the unincorporated organization is “solely owned by” the individual.
Likewise, the specialist will conclude that an individual and an unincorporated organization are the same legal entity if there is a clear relationship between the name of the individual and the name of the organization (e.g., John Smith/Smith Publishing Company).
The specialist will communicate with the applicant if the individual and the organization appear to be separate legal entities, if the organization appears to be a corporation, or if the relationship between the individual and the organization is unclear.
Examples:
- An online application names “Dear John Publishing Company” as the author of a directory. The claimant is identified as “John Deering d/b/a Dear John Publishing Company.” The application will be accepted.
- An online application names “Ken Clark” as the author of a photograph. The applicant names “Ken Clark Studios, solely owned by Ken Clark” as the claimant. The application will be accepted.
- An online application names “Pauline Corelli” as the author of a jewelry design and “Corelli Designs” as the claimant. The registration specialist may register the claim without communicating with the applicant. The author and the organization appear to be the same legal entity, because they both contain the name “Corelli.”
