As far as I'm concerned this thread is closed

No, the thread is still wide OPEN because there may well be people besides you who'd like to contribute. They might be less inclined to do so after seeing how negative the tone can get here, though.

I hope Gabe was able to get something useful from the tidbits of information that crept in. I found the article on the IRS website to be quite pertinent, but it's not part of any standard IRS form or schedule, so one would only find it by searching that site.

One can find further ideas and information on the use of DBAs and trademarks at:
http://www.bizadvisor.com/tm.htm -- general info about names, trademarks, and so on.
http://www2.nypl.org/smallbiz/business/struct/stprint.htm -- specific advice about fictitious names in the state of New York, which is where Gabe is moving; includes a bibliography and other links.

As for your pronouncement above: you can end your participation in any thread you want at anytime, but such a decision does not require a formal announcement, much less an attempt to quash further comments from others by declaring a topic "closed" -- as if your exit requires all others to cease talking. Goodness sakes. You are no more or less important than me or Gabe or any other person who wants to participate.

You may be proud of your "history" but you have made a pretty negative impression on me in a very short time, and I have a pretty good history on the Fool, too. Still, I assume that you must know a lot of stuff, and have no doubt done good for other folks. You simply did not seem to demonstrate those things this time around. So I'll just look forward to seeing them in some other instance along the way.