I am starting a website and I want to prevent people from stealing my name.

Im opening a website, the first six months I dont plan to make any profit. But eventually I plan to do so. What I want to know, is what is the cheapest, or simplest way to protect my domain name for business. For example if the domain is:

www.rentacar.com

How can I make sure that "rentacar" is also mine to make money, for business once I start making money.

I live in the usa and any help would be appreciatted.

buy it now. www.godaddy.com go ahead and register it now. it is only like 8 dollars for a year.

jejeje, I dont mean the domain. I mean the name in general for business purposes.

I already have the domain, but what stops other person from registering, copyrighting it, trade mark it or whatever. I wanna know whats the best way to protect your name for future business.

Get a trademark or servicemark. You need the USPTO for that not a copyright. Copyright helps you none at all, as it does not apply to names. They are also harder to get than a copyright. Instead of sending in a form with $30, instead the first step is to call an attorney who can guide you through the process. You probably won't be able to successfully do it yourself unless you dedicate a lot of time to the cause.

edit/note: it's neither simple nor cheap but it's the only way to really protect the name. Further you should first establish a brand and image. Your logo may become part of that. If you call your company "Asmythus" and you rent cars in Akron you're not competing with a coffee shop "Asmythus" in Berkeley. You can both co-exist peacably. You'll need to demonstrate the nature of your brand to protect it.

Thanks I already trademark my website www.miamitempo.com, thanks for the help