I have seen my company Ltd name on Google also registered in Nigeria. How can stop this?

[Nicky2024]

Hi

It has come to my attention that a separate, unaffiliated business overseas in Lagos, Nigeria has been established under the same name as mine on Google.

Who can I contact to stop the company to use the same name as mine. I have been in touch with companies house and they cant help.

Any advice will be welcomed, thanks for your time and help

Nicky

 

[fisicx]

Nothing you can do about it. They are in Nigeria and you are in the UK. Your company name isn't even protected in the UK. A sole trader in the UK could have the same name as you and as long as they aren't passing off they are operating quite legally.

Google doesn't care. A search for your business name returns thousands of results most of which aren't you.

 

[MeAndMyAi]

Hi

It has come to my attention that a separate, unaffiliated business overseas in Lagos, Nigeria has been established under the same name as mine on Google.

Who can I contact to stop the company to use the same name as mine. I have been in touch with companies house and they cant help.

Any advice will be welcomed, thanks for your time and help

Nicky

Not really helpful, but I'm a newbie, so doing the rounds! Agree totally with fisicx on this, nothing you can do as it's Nigeria. Obviously they are shadowed by nefarious scams etc coming from there, so I can appreciate the concern. Not sure what line of business you are in, but I would hammer out some articles on your website, join a load of business directories (I know it seems old hat, but it works). Thus creating umpteen mentions of your business name with links back to yourself. Literally burying your doppelganger in Google results, until you (or anyone else seeking you or your company) can't see them anymore.

 

[Sean Lee-Amies]

Not a whole lot more to say on this, @fisicx has covered just about every angle. A (potentially) different perspective to consider though, if you're interested maximising your chances of business success (whatever that looks like for you).

Stop caring about the little things.

Does this company in Nigeria really, actually, pose any kind of threat? Are they stealing clients from you or taking work you would otherwise have gotten?

Because also, if there are hundreds/thousands of other companies out there with the same name as you, and they had the same mindset as you do now, you would expect to be receiving constant threats designed to force you to change your business name too.

I don't know what size company you are, but I can draw some conclusions based on the fact you are coming here for advice and not your own legal team.

Until you can afford to defend your legal rights:

- Register a trademark
- Hire a legal firm
- Pursue many court cases (as fisicx mentioned, there are lots of people using your name)
- Have the time to invest into supporting each case
- Have the time to constantly look for companies to sue
- (or the money to pay someone else to do that)
- etc etc etc

There's literally nothing you can do except send a letter a hope for the best (rarely works), even if someone is breaching your IP.

If you really want your competitors to disappear, find a way to grow 2-3 times faster them. Invest into your brand so that everyone knows YOU are either the original or the best.

 

[Nicky2024]

Nothing you can do about it. They are in Nigeria and you are in the UK. Your company name isn't even protected in the UK. A sole trader in the UK could have the same name as you and as long as they aren't passing off they are operating quite legally.

Google doesn't care. A search for your business name returns thousands of results most of which aren't you.

"Thanks for your reply.

 

[Nicky2024]

Not really helpful, but I'm a newbie, so doing the rounds! Agree totally with fisicx on this, nothing you can do as it's Nigeria. Obviously they are shadowed by nefarious scams etc coming from there, so I can appreciate the concern. Not sure what line of business you are in, but I would hammer out some articles on your website, join a load of business directories (I know it seems old hat, but it works). Thus creating umpteen mentions of your business name with links back to yourself. Literally burying your doppelganger in Google results, until you (or anyone else seeking you or your company) can't see them anymore.

Thanks for your reply