text: you own a domain, yahoo for instance, now to do business over the net do you have to buy a business liscence? im trying to create some websites, now just because i own a domain doesnt mean that there is already a company or organization out there with that name already right? so do i need to be a liscenced business holder or what? also can someone have a patent on the type of site i want to creat then sue me? and whats the best way to design and run a logo check to see if i can use it and own it? each state or county is different call the county recorder and  ask them about fictious business names and a business license or vendors permit.  just because you can get the domain name dose not mean that the name is not already used. you will have to look at county and state records before filing for a ficticious business name and register it for your use.  websites are not patented they are copyrighted. be sure you use this code on the bottom of your pages  copyright © 2006 name of your company or your personal name.   logos are also copyrighted the artist that creates the logo for you can also put © 2006 name of your company or your personal name.