Protect Brands

Register your Business Name as a Trademark

Contrary to popular myth copyright does not protect a company or business name.  The only way to get exclusive ownership over a business or company name is through trademarks.  We are solicitors specialising in intellectual property law and often assist start up businesses to clear and protect their names.

Your name is potentially one of your most important assets.  Trademarks give broad protection.  A trademark owner"s rights extend to names that sound similar and even to those names which might seem different at first sight.  Unlike company or domain names where a slight adjustment of spelling or the addition of a hyphen is enough to register a desired name, a trademark will stop others using any similar name. For example, McMunchies is too similar to McDonalds, and its use as a sandwich bar was disallowed.

Why Copyright in a name does not exist

There has been a decision of the courts on this very point.  In Exxon Corp v Exxon Consultants International Ltd (1982) Exxon tried (but failed) to persuade the court to stop Exxon Consultants calling itself EXXON for insurance services.  They argued that they had paid substantial amounts of money to have the name developed for them and had copyright in the name.  The Court disagreed, saying it is not possible to have copyright in a name, that trademarks are the only way to own rights over a name.

A new Company Names Adjudication system was launched on 1 October 2008, which allows anyone who feels aggrieved about a new company incorporation to appeal to a newly established body known as the Company Names Tribunal. 

If you don"t first check that your chosen business name is available for you to use, a trademark owner with better rights could require you to stop using that name.  This could prove expensive.  Apart from the inconvenience of having to change names once you have already launched, think of the wasted start up costs, legal fees, and loss of goodwill you may have generated in your business by the time you find out the name is not available for you to use.

To reduce the risks of trademark infringement and passing off, register your company name as a trademark. 

What next?

Read more about Trade Marks, or view our Frequently Asked Questions.