Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Trade name \Trade name\
The name by which an article is called among traders, etc.; as, tin spirits is a common trade name in the dyeing industry for various solutions of tin salts.
An invented or arbitrary adopted name given by a manufacturer or merchant to an article to distinguish it as produced or sold by him.
The name or style under which a concern or firm does business. This name becomes a part of the good will of a business; it is not protected by the registration acts, but a qualified common-law protection against its misuse exists, analogous to that existing in the case of trade-marks.
Wiktionary
n. 1 A name used to identify a commercial product or service; may or may not be registered as a trademark. 2 The name under which a business or firm operates.
WordNet
n. a name given to a product or service [syn: brand name, brand, marque]
Wikipedia
A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies to perform their business under a name that differs from the registered, legal name of the business. Trade names are typically used by companies to conduct their operations under a simpler brand as opposed to using their formal name within all public communications, or when a desired name was not able to be registered by the business operator, or if that business is owned by a separate company, franchisee, or a sole proprietorship. Trade names are also used in drug nomenclature with specific policies and guidelines for use in academic publications, (for example, atorvastatin (trade name Lipitor by Pfizer)).
The distinction between a registered legal name and a "fictitious" business name or trade name is important, as businesses with the latter give no obvious indication of the true identity of the entity that is legally responsible for their operation. Fictitious business names do not create legal entities in and of themselves; they are merely names assumed by existing persons or entities. Legal agreements such as contracts are normally made under the registered legal name of the business or owner, and the legal name must be used whenever a business sues or is being sued.
In the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Zimbabwe (as well as some parts of the United States), the phrase trading as (abbreviated t/a) is used to designate trade names. In the United States and less often in Canada, the phrase "doing business as" (abbreviated DBA, dba, d.b.a. or d/b/a) is used. More common terms in Canada are operating as (abbreviated to o/a) and trading as (abbreviated to T/A). In English writing, trade names are generally treated as proper nouns.
Usage examples of "trade name".
Sears & Montgomery had subsidised an assembly plant to manufacture miner's bikes on the Moon under the trade name 'Lunocycle' and Looney bikes, using less than twenty per cent.
Montgomery had subsidised an assembly plant to manufacture miner's bikes on the Moon under the trade name 'Lunocycle' and Looney bikes, using less than twenty per cent.
Each cachet contained three decigrams of malourea, the insidious drug notorious under its trade name of Veronal.
He is apparently a trade name, for at least one series of postcards is issued simply as 'The Donald McGill Comics', but he is also unquestionably a real person with a style of drawing which is recognizable at a glance.
The tiny little blue capsules, in contrast to their ambitious trade name, were neither super-looking nor tender.
That drug had become something of a generic name for mild sedatives, and this one had been developed by SmithKline, with a different trade name, with the added benefit that it made a good mix with alcohol.