Corporate Law Taking Over a Company's Identity

[odysseymsc]

My jurisdiction is: New York

Greetings,

I am currently looking into starting a 501(c)3 Non Profit corporation, sort of...

I was a long time member of a musical organization that has taken a turn for the worse. The Board of Directors of this group is growing old and tired, membership is at an all time low, and there is no income but unfortunately the board will not begin to turn over the reigns of the group to new directors. They would assume let it go to the grave with them. The group represents itself from New York City but has it's incorporation in New Jersey.

I've been thinking about a way to keep the group alive even after this current board of directors has passed on.

My question is: Is it legal to form a Non-Profit corporation of the same or similar name in New York State and then proceed to copyright/trademark the assumed names, logos, and other aspects of the group (it's identity) since there currently is nothing of that sort on any of it?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

There may be common law copyrights associated with the predecessor company as well as issues of your bad faith being an officer. Most importantly, you've got the bad blood that might spark a war. Perhaps starting up something new and seeing whether you can transfer the assets with consent might work, especially if you're successful with a similar but lawful name.