Help Needed

[shakeyd]

Hi ,
I have a travel website and was doing a deal with another travel agent and the deal was as I thought in the bag so to speak when I was advised at a meeting on Friday that there was a company trading with the same name , ie mt site is called first4travel and the company registard with companys house is called first 4 travel ltd.

The deal fell through because the other party felt there would be a conflict of interest. I have tried to check out this other company and as yet I have found no proof they have a domain name or even a phone number I can call there, Also is no membership with ABTA or Atol that I can find so after a load of waffle by me is.

Where do I stand with this as if in future I'm in the same position again what should I do and if the ltd company was set up first and is a travel agent could they try and shut my site down.

Any help would be recieved with thanks.

Regards
DAVE

[VeryMark]

Just because there is a previous limited company with the same name doesn't mean anything, Dave, as registration of a name at Companies House does not give any legal monopoly to its use - it only stops someone else registering the identical name as a limited company.

Under the common law of passing off, the limited company would need to show that they had started trading first and that there was a likelihood of confusion which would damage their business.

There is also the question of trade mark registration as well, as this does give a legal monoply.

A brief check does not show that anybody has registered the identical name as a trade mark, but infringement is judged on the basis of confusing similarity, and a more comprehensive search and detailed consideration would be needed to advise you properly.

We have a free guide available as a download on the Sunday Time Enterprise Network website at http://www.enterprisenetwork.co.uk/downloads/Trade%20Marks.exe.

[MikeH]

Philip is quite right with his post. You are not alone in being concerned that another company has registered a name at Companies House. However, do not be too alarmed, with approximately 2 million names registered people often find it difficult to register their intended name. As suggested you should do some research if you really want to protect the name.

Take a look on Companies House data base you will find many companies simply add a suffix onto the name or modify it slightly. Just try to avoid the grey area of 'passing off' that Philip mentioned as it may lead to later complications.

Mike.

[shakeyd]

Hi Guys,

Just to say a HUGE big thanks for you're advice. I have taken these wise words on board and can now understand the situation a bit better.

Regards
Dave
:D

www.first4travel.co.uk