Q: I’ve just set up a business and registered it at Companies House. Does that give me protection and prevent anyone else from using my business name?
Nov 29 2011
Answered by: Gary Johnston Ask a question
It is a common misconception that registration of a company name also provides trade mark protection. In fact the registration of a company name only precludes a third party from registering the identical company name, it does not stop a third party from registering all or part of your company name as their trade mark, and it certainly does not prevent them using all or part of your company name in their branding.
Likewise, just because you are able to register a limited company name does not mean that you automatically have the right to trade using that name. Companies House cannot warn you that you may be using a limited company name which is a breach of a third party trade mark, only that your chosen name is not distinctive from one already on their system.
Similarly, when buying website URLs it may be perfectly possible to buy a URL which contains the registered trade mark belonging to a third party, but if you attempted to trade using that URL you could be deemed to be breaching registered trade mark rights and forced to cease and even offer up a proportion of any revenues.
Only the owner of a valid trade mark registration has exclusive rights in the relevant country/territory to use that mark in relation to the products and/or services for which it is registered.
Registered trade marks last for an initial ten-year period and can be renewed indefinitely for additional ten-year periods subject to paying renewal fees. There is no such thing as a global trade mark, but it is possible to apply for registration of a European Community trade mark which covers all EU member states. Outside Europe, trade marks can be registered in all major trading countries although registration costs vary.
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