Etsy LLC Liability Brief

I run a Maryland-registered LLC (complete with EIN and dedicated bank account) and I’m now opening an Etsy shop. Before the storefront goes live I need a concise but thorough legal brief that answers, with clear citations, how to protect the company and myself from liability.

My main focus is the relationship between a store name that differs from the LLC’s legal name and the liability shield the LLC is meant to provide. I’m open to operating under a distinct name, provided it is properly tied back to the entity so the corporate veil remains intact.

Please address:

• Whether Maryland requires a “doing business as” (DBA, trade name) filing for an online-only store that will appear to customers under a name different from the LLC’s.
• Exactly how to file, maintain, and display that name on Etsy, in contracts, invoices, packing slips, banking, and tax returns so the LLC’s liability protection is preserved.
• Step-by-step compliance checks specific to Etsy’s platform policies (e-commerce consumer disclosures, intellectual-property rules, product liability, privacy, sales-tax nexus, etc.).
• Practical measures—insurance, terms-of-service wording, indemnity clauses, and record-keeping—that further limit personal exposure.
• Any extra Maryland or federal considerations that commonly trip up new Etsy sellers.

Deliverable: a written brief (5–8 pages is fine) in plain English that I can hand straight to my accountant and keep on file for any future insurer or potential investor. Citations should reference relevant Maryland statutes, the Comptroller’s guidance on trade names, IRS publications on single-member LLCs, and Etsy’s most recent seller policies (link or appendix).

I value clarity over length; each recommendation should state the legal basis and the concrete action I must take.