I own a small business with a unique name for the past two years. I was contacted by someone claiming that she has owned the same business name for the past ten years. She has claimed that we are now operating under the same business name. Now she has incorporated this business name, as I was operating under a dba, with my corporation. I also own the unique business name on the web with a .com. She now has the same name as a .net. Since she has incorporated this business name, who has the better legal standing to keep this unique name? An extensive search when I started this business revealed no such name had prior use. I am listed under the chamber of commerce, in the yellow pages, white pages, etc. She has no way to show other than her tax returns that she has operated under this business name. She actually didn't even register her name prior to incorporating. I took all the legal steps. Now she steps in claiming ownership of this business name. Who is the rightful owner?
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