Someone has taken and using an existing business name.

[Ian Shorrocks]

Hi all, I am aware that there was a similar post to this earlier, however the circumstances are slightly different.

An old business associate of mine, runs a small building firm and has been doing so for many years, and trading under the same name all that time.

He was registered with companies house, but has let it lapse(due to an interruption of ill health) and now it is listed as dissolved. He has just discovered that another builder has started up in the same name, and has registered his company in that name.

He still has a website in that name, which has been going for several years.

My question is, what is his legal position? Can he continue to trade under this name, as he has been trading for much longer? Or, does he have to change his name, re-do signage, change website and advertising etc.

Thanks for your responses in advance.

 

[Newchodge]

Are they in the same geographic location?

 

[Ian Shorrocks]

Yes and the town name is in business name

 

[Newchodge]

If he has been trading all that time (whether through a limited company or as a sole trader) with the same name, then the other party can be accused of passing off - pretending to be your friend.

However, if he stopped trading at all for a lengthy period of time, then he may have lost the rights to the name.

 

[Ian Shorrocks]

Thanks Newchodge, I am not entirely sure of all the facts, however I did work with him inbetween the company being dissolved and the new company filing for registration, and to my knowledge he has worked continuously in that time. In addition he has been advertising with checkatrade since 2009

 

[Lawyer]

I assume he does not have a registered trade mark for the name at the IP Office (that may not be possible anyway if the name has a town name in it eg Leeds Taxis might be hard to trade mark).

Letting his corporate entityu "lapse " is very strange. So he ran business through a limited company. Then the company was struck off the register. What happened to the company's property, goodwill, customers? Presumably by default he kind of took them over into some kind of sole trader business. Did he tell his customers at the time - now invoice John Smith trading as XYZ builders rather than XYZ Builders Ltd?

 

[Ian Shorrocks]

To be honest I am unsure, but I will ask the question. As I said, he was seriously ill at some point in hospital, and other problems associated with that.

Although a Ltd company, he wasn't using the Ltd in his advertising. I don't think you have to.

What I have noticed though, is that the other company is registered as "...............Service" instead of "..............Services" which my associate was registered as, but he is advertising as ".........Services" exactly the same.

So where does he stand?