Texas Business Organizations Code 251.452 – Use of Name “Cooperative”
USE OF NAME “COOPERATIVE.” (a) Only a cooperative association governed by this chapter, a group organized on a cooperative basis under another law of this state, or a foreign entity operating on a cooperative basis and authorized to do business in this state may use the term “cooperative” or any abbreviation or derivation of the term “cooperative” as part of its business name or represent itself, in advertising or otherwise, as conducting business on a cooperative basis.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person violates Subsection (a). An offense under this subsection is a misdemeanor punishable by:
(1) a fine of not less than $25 or more than $200 for the first month in which the violation occurs;
(2) a fine of not more than $200 for each month during which a violation occurs after the first month;
(3) confinement in the county jail for not less than 30 days or more than one year; or
(4) a combination of those punishments.
Terms Used In Texas Business Organizations Code 251.452
- Association: means an entity governed as an association under Title 6 or 7. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Business: means a trade, occupation, profession, or other commercial activity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- cooperative association: means an association governed as a cooperative association under Chapter 251. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Domestic: means , with respect to an entity, that the entity is formed under this code or the entity's internal affairs are governed by this code. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Entity: means a domestic entity or foreign entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Foreign: means , with respect to an entity, that the entity is formed under, and the entity's internal affairs are governed by, the laws of a jurisdiction other than this state. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Law: means , unless the context requires otherwise, both statutory and common law. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Month: means a calendar month. See Texas Government Code 312.011
- Person: means an individual or a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, business trust, trust, association, or other organization, estate, government or governmental subdivision or agency, or other legal entity, or a protected series or registered series of a domestic limited liability company or foreign entity. See Texas Business Organizations Code 1.002
- Year: means 12 consecutive months. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) The attorney general may sue to enjoin a violation of this section.
(d) If a court renders a judgment that a person who used the term “cooperative” before September 1, 1975, is not organized on a cooperative basis but is authorized to continue to use the term, the business shall place immediately after its name the words “does not comply with the cooperative association law of Texas” in the same kind of type and in letters not less than two-thirds the size of the letters used in the word “cooperative.”
(e) Notwithstanding this section, The University Cooperative Society, a domestic nonprofit corporation related to The University of Texas, may continue to use the word “cooperative” in its name.