I have heard of many people who have decided to set up their own business, spent ages pondering a name for the business, spent a fortune on a website, logo, business cards and other marketing materials and then for one reason or another discover they can no longer use their business name and have to re-do the website, logo, business cards and other marketing materials etc at great expense. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you by following my top tips for choosing a business name:
- Check that your proposed name or a very similar name is not already registered at Companies House. You can check online for free here or google “Companies House webcheck”. Although only limited company names and LLP names are registered at Companies House, you may want to register as a limited company, if not at the start of your business at some stage in the future, and you won’t be able to register your business name if there is already a company registered with the same or a similar name.
- Check that your proposed name or similar is not registered with the Business Names Registry. This register includes the names of businesses which are not necessarily limited companies and LLPs and therefore won’t be found on the Companies House search. It is not mandatory to register so this database doesn’t contain all of the business names out there but it is still worthwhile doing a search. You can search online for free here.
- If you want to form a limited company or LLP (or there is a chance that you might want to do so in the future), check that the name does not include a sensitive word (such as British, National, International, European, Association, Authority, Chartered, Council, Institute, Society, Charity, Insurance, Register, Trust, Health Centre, Parliament, Government, Royal, Queen, Prince) as you need to obtain the approval of the Secretary of State for these names to be registered and they will only be approved if it is absolutely appropriate for you to use the name.
- Ensure your proposed name is not the same or very similar to a registered trade mark of a product or service in the same market as you. If it is, you may risk the owner of the trade mark bringing an action against you to stop you using the name or at the least will not be able to register the name as your own trade mark. You can search online for free here.
- Make sure your name is capable of being trade marked as you may wish to trademark your business name at some stage in the future. See my article on this point.
- Carry out a domain name search to check that the domain names are still available. It might be worth registering both .com and .co.uk and having a redirection to prevent somebody else from using them. You can search online for free at Nominet – Also do a google search to check that a competing business isn’t using a similar name because if it is, you might run into problems with passing off down the line.
- And finally, not really a legal point, but if you are hoping to expand internationally, make sure that your name doesn’t have meanings or associations that you would rather it didn’t in those jurisdictions.
I hope that this is helpful but if anyone has any questions, please get in touch!
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“Suzanne Dibble, founder of Lawyers4mumpreneurs, is an award winning business lawyer who specialises in business law for entrepreneurial mums. For testimonials from clients who have been delighted with Suzanne’s friendly, cost effective, jargon-free business law advice, please see http://www.lawyers4mumpreneurs.com”
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Cracking post Suzanne. Some really useful pointers that I will be referring my clients to again and again!
Great post, thanks! I’ll certainly be pointing my clients to your website!
Hello Suzanne, this is enlightening as I found there are a few companies in Australia and the UK using the White Orchid name which sometimes annoy me because they should have checked it out. Thai restaurants seem to like the name and a flower shop in Malaysia and one in Australia have used it even though they are established after us! What can one do? Annoying when you search Facebook for our page and you get these entries! Aargh!
An entrepreneurial dad enjoyed this post too!!
Excellent advice.
Gavin.
It’s so difficult to come up with the right name these days. You’re post is spot on, the importance to get the domain names and to check with the IPO about Trade Marks is quite right. As a start up business I think you have to dream big and to think internationally.
Great post – thanks Suzanne, very timely!
Do you have any advice on registering a name as a sole trader? Is it worth it and does it stop anyone using it for a limited company?
Thanks for the post Nicole.
It is frustrating when you see other businesses using your name but unless you have protected the name by trademarking it in that jurisdiction and in that class of business, there is nothing you can do unless there is a case of passing off (but passing off itself is very difficult and costly to prove).
Thanks for the comment Wendy.
If you want to stop people using your sole trader business name, I would recommend that you check whether it can be trademarked. See my note on trademarking which gives guidance on this. If you want to grow your brand and are concerned about competing businesses using your name, I would definitely recommend trademarking it. Trademarking wouldn’t stop somebody registering the name as a limited company but then they wouldn’t be able to trade with that name if they were a competing business. If you are thinking of registering as a limited company in the future, it may be worth you registering a limited company in your business name and leaving the company dormant until you are ready to use it. Your only obligation with a dormant company is to file annual accounts with Companies House which is very easy to do.
Thanks Suzanne for this, I’m relieved to see my business name ticks all the right boxes!