(a)  Any licensee shall, on notice from the attorney general, discontinue any advertising or the use of any advertisement, seal, or card that, in the opinion of the attorney general, tends to mislead the public. Failure to comply with this order of the attorney general is cause for revocation of the license.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-5.1-21

  • Attorney General: means the attorney general of the state of Rhode Island. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-5.1-2
  • Business: means any corporation, company, association, operation, firm, partnership, institution, trust, or other form of business association, as well as a natural person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-5.1-2
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • License: means any license required by this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-5.1-2
  • Licensee: means any person to whom a license is granted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-5.1-2
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • seal: shall be construed to include an impression of the seal made with or without the use of wax or wafer on the paper. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-15
  • town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9

(b)(1)  No licensee shall, by the use of any letterhead, advertisement, or other printed matter, or in any manner, represent that he or she is an instrumentality or agency of the federal government or of the state or political subdivision of the state.

(2)  No licensee shall conduct a business under a trade name until he or she has obtained the written authorization of the attorney general to do so. The attorney general shall not authorize the use of a trade name that, in his or her opinion, is similar to that of a public office or agency, or of that used by another licensee that the public may be confused or misled by the trade name, except that this provision does not apply to the continued use of a trade name by a corporation that:

(i)  Was commercially using that trade name in good faith on December 31, 1987; and

(ii)  Had commercially used that trade name in good faith continuously for a period of more than one year prior to December 31, 1987.

(3)  The authorization shall require, as a condition precedent to the use of the name, the filing of a certificate of doing business under the name with the city or town clerk of the city or town where the licensee’s principal place of business is located and with the secretary of state in the manner provided by law.

History of Section.
P.L. 1987, ch. 112, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 297, § 1.