Trade name

A trade name, also known as a trading name or a business name, is the name which a business trades under for commercial purposes, although its registered, legal name, used for contracts and other formal situations, may be another.

As an example, the company Panda Chemical Manufacturers, Inc. may use the more friendly name Panda Pharmaceuticals when it holds itself out to the public. In this example, Panda Pharmaceuticals is the trade name.

Historically, some segments of the pharmaceutical and chemical industry have misused the phrase trade name as being synonymous with product or brand name. This practice over the last decade seems to have lessened but still does persist.