Using the word "Productions" in a name

Zacatac

Zacatac

Well-known member
Now here's my simple question, getting my stuff all worked up, and I'm looking at naming it. I won't be creating a business, persay (nothing LLC or anything like that)

But can I use the word Productions in it without it actually being a production company?

Idk, this has always irked me because kids who create forum names always say ASAHJ Productions, and wasn't sure on the legality on it
 
alright, are there any expenses in creating a DBA, and any hidden things once I create a EIN?
 
You can call yourself anything you want, however you want, and do what you want, as soon as you start to take it to the "legal" point, you might as go all the way with it. State and Federal Tax Numbers, bank accounts, insurance.... the whole enchilada.

My bank will at times not cash nor deposit some checks, depending on who is working, that have a company name as payee, as my account is "personal". With the shortage of tax revenues, as soon as you apply for a fed number, start expecting to hear something from the state wondering what you are doing...and "where is our cut of the action". Also, your homeowners or renters insurance isn't going to cover your "company" and it's actions / property. They will while it is "your hobby" but once it goes "pro"....why you need this wonderful BUSINESS policy we offer.

If you aren't going to be generating any sizable amount of cash and have no interest in any tax write offs for depreciation etc, then stay strictly "the neighborhood video guy".

You can get cards made up with your production company name, distribute them, do work, just when it comes time to be paid, have them make it cash or out to you personally and skip all the hassle. Remember though, should something "catastrophic" happen, all your personal insurance is not going to be there for you, and you are wide open personally for any and all liability.

As my insurance agent used to tell me "it's not the fender bender that the insurance company is going to investigate...... it's the school bus full of kids that is going to have them pulling out all the stops".
 
You can put any title you want on anything unless someone else holds trademark on it and they don't want you to. And if you aren't using it as a registered entity someone could, possibly, register it as a real company later and come at you after the fact. But that's the only way I could see a problem.
 
Actually you can't QUITE call yourself anything you want... you cannot call yourself Zacatac Inc. if you're not actually a corporation, or Zacatac LLC if you're not actually an LLC, etc.
 
dougspice said:
Actually you can't QUITE call yourself anything you want... you cannot call yourself Zacatac Inc. if you're not actually a corporation, or Zacatac LLC if you're not actually an LLC, etc.
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Yeah, I knew that, that was the main question I was asking in a way about productions, is saying (I.e. Zacatac Productions) mean that I am a business entity? is a "Productions" like saying an LLC, or Inc.?
 
Yeah a DBA really is about that much. I think in Burbank it was $8 or something per year. It was just based on the number of employees you have, and if you're the only employee it was super cheap. You get a DBA in a city, it's not a state-registered type of thing, at least there was no process like that for me and my business partner (we had a corporation and under that we were DBA, separate companies, to distribute income and expenses).

It's relatively cheap getting a corporation setup. I mean it's like $300-400, and then the annual tax responsibility is $800 minimum, but that is becomes just part of what you owe if you have taxes anyway. So if you should pay $5,000 taxes it's not $5,000 plus $800, it's just that the minimum is $800 no matter whether you made money or lost money.
 
Sky's the limit, call your business anything you want to!

I was told that a company name with non-fictitious names is a different price than fictitious. So for example, "Smith Productions", with your last name being Smith, is cheaper than, "Red Door Productions". Maybe this is just California, or my area of it.

In San Jose, a business license cost me $35.00. I was also told to register in each county that I would be doing business in, which seems excessive.
 
BradFu said:
Sky's the limit, call your business anything you want to!

I was told that a company name with non-fictitious names is a different price than fictitious. So for example, "Smith Productions", with your last name being Smith, is cheaper than, "Red Door Productions". Maybe this is just California, or my area of it.

In San Jose, a business license cost me $35.00. I was also told to register in each county that I would be doing business in, which seems excessive.
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If you only have one office where you do billing, see clients, etc, I would think you're doing business in only one location, even though you may go all over the place to shoot.
 
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