Registering Business name without the LTD?

[Singlemum]

Hello Forum members

I am currently a sole trader. I wanted to register my business name without forming a LTD company. Is this something I can do?

Also just read on one of the posts, you need to pay yearly if we become a ltd? is that true?

Look forward to reading what you have to say

 

[Scalloway]

I wanted to register my business name without forming a LTD company. Is this something I can do?

The only option I know of is to register it as a trademark. That is not straightforward.

you need to pay yearly if we become a ltd

If you just register a limited company to stop anybody else using your chosen name you can leave it dormant and it will remain on the Companies House register for as long as you send in an annual confirmation statement which costs£13.

If you wish to transfer your business to a limited company and trade through it you need an accountant to file the accounts and tax return as they are a lot more complicated than those needed as a sole trader.

 

[Singlemum]

Thank you for replying.
So can I register as a ltd, leave it dormant but trade as a sole trader?

See the thing is I am still fairly new, my profits was very low last tax year, and that was eaten up by what I paid for the accountant so was left with anything.

I just want to register it so no-one can take the name.
Hopefully in the future when the business is booming I can go over to the ltd.

Your thoughts please x

 

[Scalloway]

Yes there is nothing wrong with registering a company and leaving it dormant. You could investigate trademarking your business name too.

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark

 

[Singlemum]

Brillant, thank you so much. Will look into this.

 

[Glen Wheeler]

Hey @Singlemum

My first question is why? Why can't you just register the business name as a sole trader? There are many reasons to go Ltd of Trademark but for me there would always have to be a reason

Having a Ltd company vs being a sole trader can have so many benefits. It would be goodd to know your thoughts

 

[Scalloway]

Why can't you just register the business name as a sole trader?

There has not been a UK register of business names since 1985.

 

[Singlemum]

Hey @Singlemum

My first question is why? Why can't you just register the business name as a sole trader? There are many reasons to go Ltd of Trademark but for me there would always have to be a reason

Having a Ltd company vs being a sole trader can have so many benefits. It would be goodd to know your thoughts

I would love to register my business name as a sole trader if that is something I can do? Please let me know if you have any info on that. All I want is my business name to be registered so no-one can take it.

 

[fisicx]

I would love to register my business name as a sole trader if that is something I can do? Please let me know if you have any info on that. All I want is my business name to be registered so no-one can take it.

Only way to do this is register as a company. But this only gives you limited protection. Somebody could register a company with one letter difference. They can register similar domain names, set up social media accounts and so on.

 

[Deleted member 59730]

I would love to register my business name as a sole trader if that is something I can do?

I disagree with other replies. The ONLY way to protect your trading name is with a trademark. Its fairly easy to do yourself.

 

[japancool]

All I want is my business name to be registered so no-one can take it.

Why? Business names are rarely very important.

 

[Singlemum]

Why? Business names are rarely very important.

Why do you say it is rarely important? curious to know

 

[Singlemum]

Only way to do this is register as a company. But this only gives you limited protection. Somebody could register a company with one letter difference. They can register similar domain names, set up social media accounts and so on.

Is registering my business as a company the same as trademark? If not what is the difference please? How easy is it to do? Thank you

 

[japancool]

Why do you say it is rarely important? curious to know

Because a name doesn't make a business. It really doesn't matter what you call your business, and you can pretty much guarantee no one's going to try and steal it. Even if they do, so what? Just use a different name.

Once you start using the name, you have some protection against someone "passing off" as your business.

 

[obscure]

@atmosbob posted the correct answer.

If you are a sole trader and you want to protect the name (mark) you use for trade then you should register a Trademark.

Registering a Ltd does nothing to protect your trading name.... nothing. All you are doing is paying to keep a dormant company hanging around for no purpose.

If you are a sole trader (Bob Brown) who trades under the name of "Ace Meats" then you get some protection as an unregistered trademark just by using the mark. Registering a Ltd company in the name of Ace Meats Ltd doesn't improve that protection. In fact if you were to stop trading under that name for a few years but still own/maintain the dormant Ltd, someone else could come along and start using Ace Meats to trade (they just couldn't have that as their Ltd Co name).

 

[paulears]

Protection of a name can be legal like the trademark advice, or simply practical. Getting on first is usually enough. So you ‘register’ your business by buying the .com and .co.uk web addresses and at the very least, put up a simple site that needs no maintenance. You do the same with social media. You in the future, somebody has the idea for a business, then their research should bring up your use of the name. Many business people would simply google their brilliant idea for a name. If google doesn’t know about it, then irrespective of anything else, it’s vacant.

Even with similar names it can work ok if you are not in the same business. I’m a sole trader and on the east coast. Occasionally I get enquiries for a ltd company on the west coast who have a similar name. I just send their email , job done. We don’t annoy each other at all. If you have a web site, Twitter account and Facebook in the business name it would be something to show a judge if you had to in the future.

 

[Scalloway]

Is registering my business as a company the same as trademark? If not what is the difference please? How easy is it to do?

There is no means of registering a business name in the UK.

How to register a trademark

https://www.gov.uk/how-to-register-a-trade-mark

 

[Deleted member 59730]

Is registering my business as a company the same as trademark? If not what is the difference please? How easy is it to do? Thank you

Think of the business as any holding body. In your case yourself.

A business can have any number of trademarks. Think of Unilever Ltd. You don't buy Unilever soap you buy Dove soap which is one of their trademarks. https://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/

To my knowledge Unilever have over 3,000 unused trademarks in case they want to use them.

 

[Hughj11]

Just to add to this a little, although as I work in trade marks, I am a bit biased.

Common law rights (such as those mentioned above by @paulears, i.e, trading as, having a website domain etc,.) do offer some protection over a brand/company name. The protection afforded is obviously weaker than that of a registered trade mark and generally much more expensive and time-consuming to protect, but does offer cheap and easy initial protection. Should also be worth noting that domain names can infringe on existing trade marks.

I also have to strongly disagree with @japancool, trade marks and other IP rights are not only valuable, in a lot of cases they are one of the most valuable assets a company can hold. Considering all the goodwill and reputation a company/brand has, the value of these intangible assets are held by the name/logo/branding etc, hopefully protected by a trade mark. Of course, this is considering that you have goodwill as a business, but when looking at the value of trade marks held by a company such as Apple (trade marks valued at $170 billion), the trade marks make a large portion of their overall evaluation.

 

[Maxwell83]

Why do you say it is rarely important? curious to know

Registering the ltd company name doesn't mean much - You could register Singlemum Ltd, and I could register Singlemum UK Ltd, SInglemum Worldwide Ltd, Single Mom Ltd, Singlemum Sales Ltd, Singlemum Consulting Ltd, etc etc

Further, I could register Maxwell Holdings Ltd and simply trade as 'Singlemum' anyway. Customers rarely care for the ltd company name and usually only see the trading name.

The best protection from someone like me trying to trade as Singlemum is to register a trademark.

Without a trademark, you might be able to rely on passing off (me trying to pass myself off as you), but that would rely on you having some established goodwill in the name 'Singlemum'. You won't have any goodwill in the ltd company name, because it is dormant and doesn't trade. So your goodwill will only ever come from your sole trader name anyway. So having the ltd company name doesn't really help you.

With a trademark, its much easier for you to stop me trading as Singlemum.

If you ever want to go limited, you don't need your company name to be Singlemum Ltd, for the same reasons outlined above - you can be Jane Doe Ltd trading as Singlemum. It might even be helpful to keep Singlemum as just a trading style, under a more generic company name, in case you ever decide to expand and add more brands/trading styles later.

 

[japancool]

I also have to strongly disagree with @japancool, trade marks and other IP rights are not only valuable, in a lot of cases they are one of the most valuable assets a company can hold.

That's not what I said though - I said that a name doesn't make a company. You can have the greatest name in the world, but until you actually build something round that name, it doesn't do anything.

It's only when the name becomes established that it's worth anything.

The OP might have come up with a fantastic name but if she's going to register it as a company then have it sit dormant for a few years, it's not really worth anything.

 

[Hughj11]

That's not what I said though - I said that a name doesn't make a company. You can have the greatest name in the world, but until you actually build something round that name, it doesn't do anything.

It's only when the name becomes established that it's worth anything.

The OP might have come up with a fantastic name but if she's going to register it as a company then have it sit dormant for a few years, it's not really worth anything.

I apologise for my misunderstanding! I now strongly agree with what you said.

Also on the point of just holding the name for a dormant company @Singlemum, you have to use the trade mark within a period of 5 years or risk a revocation (non-use) action.