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Selling a product online in US (North Carolinia)

Started by coderWalker Jun 10, 2012 at 3:50 AM 0 replies 2k views

Original Post

Jun 10, 2012 at 3:50 AM

I have been working hard on a program and I want to sell it online. I am working on a website and will have it online soon. I also came up with a business name that I would like to sell the product under. I will register the domain after the business is mine (eg:business.net)

I was going to just (c) a name and then put the product online and let people pay via paypal.
However someone told me this would be illigal since it would be untaxed income.

What do I need to do and in what order to get this rolling?

I have looked online at meny pages and some specific to North carolinia, a large amount of pages I looked at contridict other pages so I'm looking for a clear answer.

A few questions I have are as follows:
Can I sell a product online under a name without registering anything?
Do I have to register a name to use it? (eg:macrosoft)
Is it illigal to sell products online under a name without registering a business?
What steps do I need to do to start my business (legally) ?

I'm a programmer that works hard to make comercial software to sell online and I think it's time I got a name and a website to put it on. Any help I get on this is appreciated. Thanks in advance,
CoderWalker

Tom Sloper

Jun 10, 2012 at 4:56 AM

1. I also came up with a business name that I would like to sell the product under.
2. I will register the domain after the business is mine
3. I was going to just (c) a name
4. and then put the product online and let people pay via paypal.
However someone told me this would be illigal since it would be untaxed income.
5. a large amount of pages I looked at contridict other pages
6. Can I sell a product online under a name without registering anything?
7. Do I have to register a name to use it? (eg:macrosoft)
8. Is it illigal to sell products online under a name without registering a business?
9. What steps do I need to do to start my business (legally) ?

1. You should probably check to make sure that business name isn't already taken for games.
2. You should go ahead and register the domain as sure as you know you can use the business name is okay to use.
3. No. You can't copyright a business name or a game title. That's not what copyright is for. And when you start using a game name or a business name in commerce, it's called a trademark. Look up the difference between copyright and trademark.
4. No, that's not against the law. You do have to pay tax on the income, so that makes it legal.
5. Can you be more specific? What information are you finding that contradicts what other information? You need to clarify this.
6. You can, but you should register your business name. In California, you have to register your business name. I assume it's the same in NC.
7. Yes, you should do that. Look up the terms sole proprietorship, dba, and LLC, for starters.
8. It could be a tax problem. It's not like they'll put you in jail or anything like that.
9. Why don't you visit your local SBA office and ask them for help with questions like this? It's free.

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