The advice given in previous postings is sound but depends on a) you living close enough to a big city to be able to visit a copyright/intellectual property lawyer and b) you being willing and able to pay the associated fee (I would think, start talking at $500 an hour, minimum fee one hour!). Advice from a general-practice small-town lawyer will be worth no more than the assembled wisdom of APUG but will cost money (wasted money).
Not true;
Telephones, email and faxes will take care of a); and as for b), if a small town general practice lawyer gives you legal advice, which turns out to be false or inaccurate, and you are damaged thereby, you have a malpractice claim against the lawyer. The lawyer knows this and will either 1) not give any advice regarding subjects he/she is unfamiliar with; or 2) research the h*** out of the subject until he/she feels competent to advise (or bring in someone who is).
Further, even at the exorbitant rate of $500/hr., that is far cheaper "insurance" than the hundreds of thousands of dollars a trademark or copyright infringement suit may cost, in fines, penalties, court costs and lawyer fees.
Yes, you can run a business, or buy a house without legal counsel. I could take out my own appendix, too, but why would one want to do so?
And I would suggest that, in the USA at least, giving legal advice, even over the internet, may be construed as practicing law without a license, a crime in most if not all jurisdictions. The reason they make it a crime is to protect the public from bad advice, and subsequent harm.