The phrase "doing business as" (abbreviated DBA, dba or d/b/a) is a legal term used in the United States, meaning that the trade name, or fictitious business name, under which the business or operation is conducted and presented to the world is not the legal name of the legal person (or persons) who actually own it and are responsible for it. In other countries the expressions operating as (abbreviated o/a) or trading as (abbreviated T/A) are used for a similar purpose. The desired name might not have been registrable, or the business might be owned by another company, franchisee, or a sole proprietorship, resulting in all legally binding transactions taking place on behalf of the trading as name.

The distinction between an actual and a "fictitious" name is important because businesses with "fictitious" names give no obvious indication of the entity that is legally responsible for their operation.

In some jurisdictions, when a businessperson writes a trade name on a contract, invoice, or check, he or she must also add the legal name of the business. An example of a jurisdiction that mandates this is Ontario, Canada.^[1]

Canada[link]

In Canada, the term operating as (abbreviated to o/a) is used.

Trading As or T/A Abbreviation[link]

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong (and some parts of the United States), the phrase trading as (abbreviated t/a) is used.

In the United Kingdom there is no filing requirement for a "trading as" name, but there are requirements for disclosure of the true owner's name, and some restrictions on the use of certain names.^[2]

Japan[link]

In Japan, the word yagō (屋号^?) is used.

United States[link]

In several U.S. states, DBAs are officially referred to using another term. Oregon uses Assumed Business Names;^[3] Washington calls DBAs trade names;^[4] other states refer to trade styles or fictitious business names.

Many U.S. jurisdictions for consumer protection purposes, require businesses operating with fictitious names to file a DBA statement. This also reduces the possibility of two local businesses operating under the same name. Note, though, that this is not a replacement for obtaining a trademark. A DBA filing carries no legal weight in instances where a trademark would be necessary.^{[citation needed]}

DBA statements are often used in conjunction with a franchise. The franchisee will have a legal name under which it may sue and be sued, but will conduct business under the franchiser's brand name (which the public would recognize). A typical real-world example can be found in a well-known pricing mistake case, Donovan v. RRL Corp., 26 Cal. 4th 261 (2001), where the named defendant, RRL Corporation, was a Lexus car dealership doing business as "Lexus of Westminster", but remaining a separate legal entity from Lexus, a Division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., which was not even mentioned in the California Supreme Court opinion.

Notably in California and also in other areas, filing a DBA statement also requires that a notice of the fictitious name be published in local newspapers for some set period of time to inform the public of the owner's intent to operate under an assumed name. The intention of the law is to protect the public from fraud, by compelling the business owner to record his/her name with the County Recorder, and making a further public record of it by publishing it in a newspaper.

See also[link]

Companies portal

• Business organizations
• Pen name
• Pseudonym
• Service mark
• Trade dress
• Trade name
• Trademark

References[link]

External links[link]

• California Business and Professions Code §§17900-17930 governing fictitious business names
• Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 648 governing Assumed Business Names
• Revised Code of Washington Title 19.80 on Trade names

Doing business may refer to:

• Doing business as (DBA) - legal term;
• Doing Business Report - World Bank Group's yearly study of private sector development.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Rob Wells is a multi-platinum, award-winning producer/songwriter based in Toronto & Los Angeles.

Wells has worked with Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Adam Lambert, Nick Lachey, Miranda Cosgrove, Mika, Backstreet Boys, Paloma Faith, Cyndi Lauper, Olivia Newton John, Daisy Dares You, Boyzone, Matt Dusk, Marie-Mai, Shiloh, RyanDan, Ry Cuming & many others.^[1]

Rob's work has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, One Tree Hill, The View, Late Show with David Letterman, Laguna Beach, House Of Carters, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Instant Star,^[2] & 20th Century Fox's Flicka.

In 2005, Wells (along with Christopher Ward) placed first in the International Songwriting Competition's Top40/Pop Category with the song "There's Us",^[3] which was later recorded by Alexz Johnson, Backstreet Boys and Jennifer Ewbank.

Wells received a SOCAN #1 award for Matt Dusk's "All About Me", having reached the top of the Canadian AC Radio Charts in August 2006.^[4]

In the summer and fall of 2008, Rob appeared on YTV's "The Next Star" as a music producer.^[5] He was also on an episode of E!'s "House Of Carters".^[6]

In the winter of 2011, his co-written song "Comme Avant" with Marie-Mai spent 11 weeks at #1 in Quebec.

He is the younger brother of writer/producer Greg Wells.^[7]

Selected discography[link]

• Stereos (Self Titled) by Stereos
• My World by Justin Bieber
• My Worlds Acoustic by Justin Bieber
• For Your Entertainment by Adam Lambert
• Kiss & Tell by Selena Gomez
• Unbreakable by Backstreet Boys
• What's Left Of Me by Nick Lachey
• Brother by Boyzone
• Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? by Paloma Faith
• Duet by Ronan Keating
• Sparks Fly by Miranda Cosgrove
• Happy Ending by Mika
• Back In Town - by Matt Dusk
• Stereos by Stereos
• Picture Imperfect by Shiloh
• Somewhere Else by Eva Avila

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rob Wells on Myspace
• Rob Wells on Songwriters Association of Canada