Glossary of Business Entities

Domestic Business:  Any business formed in the state of Ohio is considered a domestic business. 

Foreign Business:  Any business formed in another state, country or jurisdiction is considered a foreign business in Ohio.  These foreign business entities may license to transact business in Ohio.

Fictitious Name: A name used in business or trade that the user has not registered as a trade name or is not entitled to register as a trade name.  Registration of a fictitious name does not give the user any exclusive right to use the name.

Trade Name:  A name used in business or trade to designate the business of the user.  Registration of a trade name gives the registrant exclusive use of the name.   

Name Reservation:  A name is reserved for 180 days from the date of filing.  This cannot be used to conduct business in Ohio, but ensures that the name will be available at the time you are prepared to file your business entity with our office.  Although a name reservation may not be renewed, a customer may reserve the name again following the expiration of the 180 day time frame.

Sole Proprietorship: A form of business in which one person owns all of the assets of the business as opposed to a partnership, trust or corporation.

General Partnership: A form of business in which two or more persons carry on business as co-owners for profit, and who are personally liable for all debts of the partnership.  A general partnership may register a trade name, fictitious name or a Statement of Partnership Authority to register in Ohio.

Limited Partnership: A type of partnership comprised of one or more general partners who manage the business, and who are personally liable for partnership debts, and one or more limited partners who contribute capital and share in profits but who take no part in running the business and incur no liability with respect to the partnership obligations beyond contribution.

Limited Liability Partnership: A type of partnership where all partners have a form of limited liability and the partners can manage the business directly.

Limited Liability Company:  A form of business organization characterized by limited liability, management by members or managers, and limitations on the transferability of ownership interest.  A limited liability company may be formed as a nonprofit or for-profit business type.

For Profit Corporation: An entity created by one or more person(s) where the ownership is represented by shares of stock.  A corporation is legally recognized as a separate and distinct entity from that of its shareholders who are not personally responsible for the corporation’s acts and debts.

Nonprofit Corporation: A corporation that is not formed for the pecuniary gain or profit of, and whose net earnings or any part of them is not distributable to its members, trustees, officers or other private persons, except for the payment of reasonable compensation for services rendered. 

Benefit Corporation: A corporation that sets forth in its articles of incorporation one or more beneficial purposes among the purposes for which the corporation is formed.  Beneficial purpose means seeking to have a bona fide positive effect or to reduce one or more bona fide negative effects of an artistic, charitable, cultural, economic, educational, environmental, literary, medical, religious, scientific, or technological nature of the benefit of persons, entities, communities, or interests other than shareholders in their capacity as shareholders. 

Professional Corporation:   A corporation, formed under Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Chapter 1785, which is organized for the sole purpose of rendering specific professional services referenced in ORC 1785.01.

Service Mark:  Any word, name, symbol, device, or combination of any word, name, symbol or device, that is adopted and used by a person to identify and distinguish the services of that person, including a unique service, from the services of other persons, and to indicate the source of the services, even if that source is unknown.

Trademark: Any word, name, symbol, device, or combination of any word, name, symbol or device, that is adopted and used by a person to identify and distinguish the goods of that person, including a unique product, from the goods of other persons, and to indicate the source of the goods, even if that source is unknown.