• The New York Times, Thursday, March 8, 2007 11:45 AM

As companies and the distribution of their goods have become more global, it has become increasingly difficult to find a name for a company, a product--even a new shade of lipstick--that has not been taken. Names now have to be registered in a company's home country -- and also secured in several others.

And the Internet, with its vast reach, has complicated the process. The growth of trademarked Web addresses or Web sites is exponential, says Delphine Parlier, a founder and partner in Quensis, a company in Paris that goes through the process of choosing a name at the same time that it does the legal, cultural and linguistic screening.

In addition, many products--particularly in the luxury and fashion categories--need a name that conveys a feeling or a sense of emotion. And they have to do that across many cultures and languages. Fees for simply coming up with an unregistered name can range from a few thousand dollars for a one-market venture to more than $70,000 for a global name and a dot-com counterpart, according to industry estimates.

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