A company name check is essential when selecting a name for your proposed company. A thorough check will inform you of relevant legal restrictions, and allow you to work with them in the quest for the perfect name. You should perform a Company Name Check on every likely candidate for your proposed company name during the creative process, rather than just on the name you settle on. There is nothing worse than finding out that the name you have spent days choosing has already been taken or is otherwise restricted.
Company Name Check — Summary
In summary you should perform the following company name checks as a minimum:
o Check that your proposed company name is available.
o Ensure that the name is not a registered trade mark in relation to the goods or services you provide.
o Ensure that the name is not being used by a competing business that operates in your area.
2. Has the company name already been taken?
Check that your proposed company name is available for registration. No two companies can be registered at Companies House with the same name. Companies House may also refuse to register a company name which is ‘too alike’ a name already on the register. This is the first element of the company name check that you should perform.
Company Formation
3. Mandatory suffix
The suffix that must be added to your company name depends on the type of company you are forming. In the overwhelming majority of cases this will be ‘Limited’ or ‘Ltd’, but could also be ‘Public Limited Company’, ‘Plc’, ‘Community Interest Company’, ‘CIC’, ‘unlimited’ or their Welsh equivalents. Unless you qualify for a specific exemption, your company name must end with one, and only one, of these suffixes. It should also be noted that these suffixes cannot appear anywhere in the company name except at the end. Ensure that your company name check takes into account this mandatory suffix.
4. Sensitive or offensive words and expressions
If you want to use certain words in your company name such as ‘International’, ‘British’, ‘Holdings’ or ‘Trust’ then you will have to meet certain conditions and/or ask for the appropriate permissions.
5. Don’t forget trade marks
The trade mark register is completely separate from the Companies House index of company names. Check them both. A business may register a name which distinguishes their goods or services as a trade mark with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the European Community trade mark office (OHIM) or the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). The trade mark holder has the exclusive right to use their trade mark in relation to specified classes of goods and services.
6. Company names are unique — Business and trading names are not
If you Register A Company with Companies House then you will be the only UK company with that name. However, it is important to note that the Companies House register only contains company names, and that the majority of businesses in the UK are sole traders or partnerships — not companies. Neither sole traders nor partnerships are obliged to register their business name with Companies House, and there is no equivalent database of business names for sole traders or partnerships.
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