I. A cooperative name shall not contain language stating or implying that the association is organized for a purpose other than that permitted by RSA 301:3 and its certificate of organization.
II. Except as authorized by paragraphs III and IV, a cooperative name, based upon the records of the secretary of state, shall be distinguishable from, and not the same as:
(a)The name of an entity incorporated, authorized, formed, or registered to do business in this state under RSA 292, RSA 293-A, RSA 293-B, RSA 294-A, RSA 301, RSA 301-A, RSA 304-A, RSA 304-B, RSA 304-C, RSA 305-A, RSA 349, or RSA 564-F.
(b)A name reserved under RSA 293-A, RSA 293-B, RSA 304-A, RSA 304-B, RSA 304-C, or RSA 564-F.
(c)The fictitious name of another foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this state.
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I. A cooperative name shall not contain language stating or implying that the association is organized for a purpose other than that permitted by RSA 301:3 and its certificate of organization.
II. Except as authorized by paragraphs III and IV, a cooperative name, based upon the records of the secretary of state, shall be distinguishable from, and not the same as:
(a) The name of an entity incorporated, authorized, formed, or registered to do business in this state under RSA 292, RSA 293-A, RSA 293-B, RSA 294-A, RSA 301, RSA 301-A, RSA 304-A, RSA 304-B, RSA 304-C, RSA 305-A, RSA 349, or RSA 564-F.
(b) A name reserved under RSA 293-A, RSA 293-B, RSA 304-A, RSA 304-B, RSA 304-C, or RSA 564-F.
(c) The fictitious name of another foreign corporation authorized to transact business in this state.
(d) The name of an agency or instrumentality of the United States or this state or a subdivision thereof, including names reserved pursuant to RSA 53-E.
(e) The name of any political party recognized under RSA 652:11, unless written consent is obtained from the authorized representative of the political organization.
(f) The name "farmers' market" unless the entity meets the definition of "farmers' market" established in RSA 21:34-a, V.
II-a. Except as authorized by paragraphs III and IV, a cooperative name, based upon the records of the secretary of state, is not distinguishable upon the record if the only distinguishing factor to the cooperative name is:
(a) An article.
(b) Plural forms of the same word.
(c) Phonetic spelling of the same name or word.
(d) An abbreviation in place of a complete spelling of the name.
(e) A suffix or prefix added to a word or any other deviation from or derivative of the same word, excluding antonyms and opposites.
(f) A change in a word or name indicating entity status.
(g) The addition of a numeric designation, unless consent is granted by the current name holder.
(h) Differences in punctuation or special characters, unless it changes the clear meaning of the word.
(i) Differences in whether letters or numbers immediately follow each other or are separated by one or more spaces.
(j) An Arabic numeral representing a number, a Roman numeral representing the same number, or a word representing the same number appearing in the same position within otherwise identical names.
III. A cooperative may apply to the secretary of state for authorization to use a name that is not distinguishable from, or is the same as, one or more of the names described in paragraph II, as determined from review of the records of the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall authorize use of the name applied for if:
(a) The holder or holders of the name as described in paragraph II gives written consent to use the name that is not distinguishable from the name of the applying cooperative; or if the name is the same, one or more words are added to the name to make the new name distinguishable from the other name; or
(b) The other entity consents to the use in writing and submits an undertaking in a form satisfactory to the secretary of state to change its name to a name that is distinguishable from, and not the same as, the name of the applying cooperative; or
(c) The applicant delivers to the secretary of state a certified copy of the final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction establishing the applicant's right to use the name applied for in this state.
IV. A cooperative may use the name, including the fictitious name, of another domestic or foreign entity that is used in this state if the other entity is incorporated, authorized, formed, or registered to transact business in this state and the proposed user cooperative:
(a) Has merged with the other entity;
(b) Has been formed by reorganization of the other entity; or
(c) Has acquired all or substantially all of the assets, including the name, of the other entity.
V. This chapter does not control the use of fictitious names.
VI. Nothing in this section would prohibit the owner or owners of a trade name registered under RSA 349 to form a domestic cooperative under the same name as the trade name.