Company Name

[JL1314]

I'm currently stuck in a situation in regards to my companies name.

I came across a domain name I liked, I then checked ipo.gov.uk to see whether there were any trademarks that is the same as the domain name, but there were none. So I bought the domain name.

However, today I realised that there are in fact 2 limited companies registered with companies house. One is exactly the same as the domain name, and the second one has Int'l at the end of it.

For example:

Domain Limited - Currently a restaurant name.
Domain Int'l Limited - No idea on what company it is. Opened July 2012

I am currently stuck on deciding what to do. Should I just forget the name, understand that I bought a useless domain name and go through the long process of thinking of a new name again, or should I carry on using the domain name, but add something like 'London' at the end of the name (ie. Domain London Ltd)?

Any advice on what I should do would be highly appreciated.

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Are you going to be opening a restaurant? or a different business ?

You could register with companies house any name you like and then trade as "Company Name London".

 

[JL1314]

Are you going to be opening a restaurant? or a different business ?

You could register with companies house any name you like and then trade as "Company Name London".

My business will be an ecommerce store.

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Shouldn't be a problem with passing off then.

 

[WolfStores]

Hi There,

The cost of the domain name that you purchased is very low/negligible compared to the overall cost of building your online shop and marketing it.

Personally I would write off the domain name and purchase a new one that would not infringe on any other registered company name, domain or trade mark. It is better to bite the bullet and be safe right from the start rather have unpleasant surprises after you have invested a lot of money on your website.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Tim

 

[ilivingapp]

Id just keep the name, to be honest.

 

[CathStew]

Does the "physical" company operate in the same market as you? Is their name "generic" words or a unique name? Do they have a domain name?

If the company thinks you site/domain is to close to their they can apply to get yours suspended.

 

[JL1314]

Hi There,

The cost of the domain name that you purchased is very low/negligible compared to the overall cost of building your online shop and marketing it.

Personally I would write off the domain name and purchase a new one that would not infringe on any other registered company name, domain or trade mark. It is better to bite the bullet and be safe right from the start rather have unpleasant surprises after you have invested a lot of money on your website.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Tim

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the price of the domain is tiny compared to the overall online business I want, but the problem is thinking of a new name which is just as good/even better.

What sort of complications could I potentially encounter if I did continue using the company name but with the added 'London' after it? There are currently no trademark existing on the name. I don't want to come across as fighting against the good advice I've been given, I just want to make the right choice.

Does the "physical" company operate in the same market as you? Is their name "generic" words or a unique name? Do they have a domain name?

If the company thinks you site/domain is to close to their they can apply to get yours suspended.

The name uses 2 generic words, for example 'Colourful Monkey Ltd'. They don't have the domain, as I bought both of the .com and .co.uk a few weeks back (Using the same example again, ColourfulMonkey.com and ColourfulMonkey.co.uk)

We operate in different markets, as the one which is 'Company name Ltd' is a restaurant whereas I will be an online shop selling apparel along with items for homes. However, I don't know what market/sector the other limited company named 'Company name int'l Ltd' is operating in. Both completely different owners.

 

[CathStew]

I guess as long as the word is generic (i.e. not a brand name) and you are operating in different sectors you should be okay.

From my own experience...I did excetly the same. Came up with a domain name, set-up the site and then checked for companies. A company with almost the identical (generic) name existed but never caused me any hassle (only had site for 12 motnhs though).

Bummer was I let the domain name expire and they picked it up...could have sold it!

 

[WolfStores]

Thanks for the reply. I understand that the price of the domain is tiny compared to the overall online business I want, but the problem is thinking of a new name which is just as good/even better.

What sort of complications could I potentially encounter if I did continue using the company name but with the added 'London' after it? There are currently no trademark existing on the name. I don't want to come across as fighting against the good advice I've been given, I just want to make the right choice.

The name uses 2 generic words

Ok, the fact that the words are generic helps. Nobody can claim exclusivity to one generic word but a combination of 2 generic words could be argued that it makes up a not so generic phrase. It also depends who you would have to deal with if they decide to challenge you.

From our experience some of our customers who insisted in including in their domain names (despite our advice against it) strings of letters such as EBAY, BMW, DKNY, etc. did get into trouble with the owners of the tradenames/trademarks. EBAY threatened legal action both against our customer (for the domain name) and us (for hosting the site) and in the end our customer agreed to shut the site down and let the domain expire.

I assume that you do not currently have a LTD company registered? You should also take into consideration that if at some stage you decided to register a company then the company name would not be able to match your domain name, since a very similar name is already registered to another company.

Hope this helps

Tim

 

[Alan]

Depending on who you bought the domain from and how long ago you did it, you can get your money back.

I did that once with Godaddy, due to a typo when I registered, there was not issue getting a refund.