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Re: Quick question on the word Incorporation/Incorporated, etc,
Subject:Re: Quick question on the word Incorporation/Incorporated, etc, From:"Bergen, Jane" <janeb -at- ANSWERSOFT -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 9 Mar 1998 15:13:19 -0600
On Monday, March 09, 1998 2:24 PM, Parker, Cassandra M. (EXCH)
[SMTP:CMPARKER -at- INTERMEDIA -dot- COM] wrote:
>
> I'm trying to find out if the following is correct:
>
> 1. There should always be a period preceding the word
incorporation at
> the end of a company name?
>
> EXAMPLE: Fictitious Name, Inc.
The word here is Incorporated, not Incorporation. It refers to the
"corporation" (usually a general term) named Fictious Name, Incorporated
(which describes what kind of legal entity Fictious Name is:
corporation).
>
> 2. Is incorporation and incorporated considered the same?
Answered above, I hope. Incorporation refers to a PROCESS, as in "the
incorporation of BLANK was painful and slow."
>
> 3. There should not be a period preceding the word
corporation?
>
> EXAMPLE: A division of Microsoft Corporation
No. And "Microsoft, Inc." (as I've seen it written) is not correct
either. The company is responsible for its own naming conventions and
Microsoft prefers Microsoft Corporation. On the other hand, Sun prefers
"Sun Microsystems, Inc". There are several ways to check this
information (asking the list is NOT the best way):
1. (the best) go to the company's websight and click on the tiny
hyperlink that says "Copyright". It should take you to a full page that
gives you the company name, products, trademark or copyright symbols for
its products, etc. I generally print these out and keep them in a file
in my tech pubs notebook.
2. Look at any printed material from the company, including user manuals
(they'll almost always have a copyright page) or ads in magazines
(they'll usually indicate which mark is correct: trademark, registered
trademark, copyright, or service mark).
3. If all else fails, call the company. They are more than happy to tell
you the correct form to use, but they get awfully testy if you use it
incorrectly.
Jane
Jane Bergen, Technical Writer,
AnswerSoft, Inc. Richardson, TX
(972) 997-8355
janeb -at- answersoft -dot- com
