legalities of similar URLs

[a mitchinson]

Hi All,

Please forgive me if this post is in the wrong place (newby poster). My question is this:

Am I exposing myself to potential legal action from a company if I have a similar URL?

I'm establishing a startup business and I've discovered that there is a very similar .co.uk to the url I've registered. My url spelling ends with one i whilst the existing site has the same spelling but ends with two (ii).

My business is in a different sector and offers a different service, although we are both based in London.

My company registered name would differ as I would include other descriptive words in the name (I've not yet registered, whilst the other company is simply called *urlname* Limited.)

If it matters, the existing company is a small independent photographer, my business is recruitment and there is no malicious intent on my part, I'm not trying to damage them in any way. There is no association between the websites.

Sorry if I've left out any basic info. I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts or experience as I want to make sure I'm not causing myself trouble for the future. Many thanks.

 

[Merchant UK]

Is your Company name the same as your url if so then maybe, The Company which has been trading the longest could sue for passing off even though your work is so different.

Best bet would be for a change of name and a fresh start i would imagine

 

[johnaero]

Do you know if they have the name trademarked? I would check that out first. You should be prevented from registering as a ltd company if the name is similar to another, so try it and see if it lets you continue. If the name is deemed too similar, I believe a written letter from the other company allowing you to use the name is enough for the company to be registered.

 

[a mitchinson]

Hi Merchant

Thanks for your reply. In response to your Q's:

My registered company name would be different, for example would include the word 'recruitment'. I know that I cannot register the name on it's own though companies house as they are too similar. The inclusion of the word recruitment, or other descriptor is enough to allow registration according to the companies house website.

As the service is so different I'd hoped it would not be considered passing of, which as I understand is to 'prevent one person from misrepresenting his/her goods or services as being the goods and services of another' (wikipedia) as the goods/service is different.

Hi johnaero,
Thanks for your post. The letter of consent is certainly something I'll look into, so I appreciate the heads up.

--

As an addition to my original post, to give an example, if you google freelancer, many sites are returned with only one or two different letters all offering the same service—and although my url name is similar, at least my company service is not...

don't know if that helps clarify things further.

Thanks again

 

[johnaero]

I can't be certain however I'm pretty sure that so long as you aren't using a name that is part of a trademark, there is nothing they can do. You also will be fine using any domain name that you registered (the only uk exception to this that I've heard of is when you register a example.ltd.uk domain - but you need to own the exact name as a company before you can register that anyway).

If you think they will be OK with it (given there is no conflict of interest) - send them an email and see if they are concerned.

 

[Merchant UK]

The issue remains that when people do a search of your company they will find other similar ones and perhaps a rival recruitment company, you could be losing leads because of this or even confusing people to the extent that they find other similar named companies but not yours.

Its best to use a name which is fairly unique to you and your business and most importantly to the web in general. A little time spent looking and researching the right name for your business could save a lot of trouble similar to what your having now.