Hi Tite003,
You should note that a trademark is different from registration of a business name in the form of a company (specifically limited (LTD) companies). The primary reason for the registration of company names is linked with a lesser liability than sole traders as liability is limited only to the extent of investment in shareholding. In contrast, a registered trademark protects the goods and services of any business (both company and sole traders) such that if another business were to use your registered trademark without your consent, you may stop this immediately. In this sense, the registration of a trademark grants you exclusive rights to use a mark in the UK. Therefore, if you have registered a trademark, you dont necessarily have to register a company name although it is common. For this reason, it is possible that registration of a company name can infringe another company with a trademark registration at any time.
In order to successfully register a trademark in the UK there are two hurdles to overcome. The first is that the mark to be registered should comply with the Trade Mark Act and the second is that it should not be identical or similar to other trademarks. In terms of the Act, a trademark must be distinctive and non-descriptive of the goods and services that it covers. Personal names (full names and surnames) may be registered although you should be aware that first names, by their nature, have a greater capacity to distinguish goods and services of one undertaking than a surname. Trademarks can also be designs, letters, numerals, the shape of goods, packaging or a combination of all. In general, words will afford you better protection than logo pictures. This is because trademark rights are diluted within the actual logo itself as a whole rather than the words that they entail.
A trademark may be registered at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the United Kingdom. Having a trademark registered with the IPO grants you protection within the United Kingdom only and not anywhere else. For example, if you have a registered a trademark with the IPO (UK), you may not stop someone else from using your registered trademark in any other country except the UK. There is no such thing as an international trademark but regional and world entities such as The Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (OHIM) and the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) may help you to register a trademark in Europe (known as a Community Trade Mark or CTM) and various national registries worldwide, respectively.
I hope the above information helps and if theres anything other information you would like to know of that I may be able to help you with, dont hesitate to comment back.
