After co-founder breakup, who can claim the name of the startup?

[ghazibinarandi]

I just broke up with my co-founders because they declined to work full-time for our startup, something that I've been doing since the start. We haven't incorporated yet, and the domain was registered under my name (I also came up with the name--if that's important). After the breakup, I told my co-founders that I still wanted to run the startup, but they said I need to use different business name. It feels unfair to me because they don't even seem to care for the name; they just don't want me to get the advantage of the brand that was built together. What do you think? I will really appreciate your views on this issue.

[greenyoda]

If you want a definitive answer, you'd really need to discuss this with a lawyer who is familiar with the laws of your state.

If you do something that your co-founders can sue you for, it could end up costing you much more than a consultation with a lawyer would. A lawyer can also give you advice on how to avoid this kind of situation if you want to start a new business in the future.

[icedchai]

You came up with the name, and you also paid for the domain. It's yours. I would just keep doing what you're doing.

Do you think they'll bother taking you to court? I doubt it.

[greenyoda → icedchai]

> You came up with the name, and you also paid for the domain. It's yours.

It's not that clear. It depends on what kind of an agreement was made with the co-founders about the joint ownership of intellectual property, and the business name (trademark) is intellectual property. Even a verbal agreement could constitute a binding contract. The co-founders may have also contributed to the product that the poster now wants to keep working on.

> Do you think they'll bother taking you to court?

It depends on how much money is at stake. There may be nothing worth suing for today, but if the business ever becomes successful, the co-founders could have more to gain by suing. If the poster doesn't establish a clear right to use the shared intellectual property, the risk of a lawsuit would always be lurking.

For example, the Winklevosses sued Mark Zuckerberg for using their ideas and code in Facebook, and ended up with a $65 million settlement:

"In 2004, ConnectU filed a lawsuit against Facebook alleging that creator Mark Zuckerberg had breached an oral contract to develop ConnectU and used their source code and idea to create TheFacebook.com. The suit alleged that Zuckerberg had copied their idea and illegally used source code intended for the website he was hired to create."[1]

This is why getting competent legal advice is essential.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ConnectU#Facebook_lawsuits