New company using similar name to mine.

[geared]

Aren't the registered company name and the Trading name often different though?

[Bikertec]

I assume this is about your company name "Moves and Removes", but this is not a registered business and if it was, you would have been protected.

 

A company was registered this year called "Move & Remove Limited" which is based in London. As your business is based in Sheffield, I cant see any issue.

No not that one some guy I presume in s6 using a very very similar name You don't need to be registered in Companies house as a sole trader. All to do with common decadency really.

[L00b]

I assume this is about your company name "Moves and Removes", but this is not a registered business and if it was, you would have been protected.

Incorporating ('registering as a ltd') does not "protect" a company name any more or better than the tort of passing-off does, it only guarantees that no one can incorporate under an identical company name.

 

It's perfectly possible to incorporate under a company name, and yet find yourself infringing a registered trade mark (whence the incorporation becomes useless - exact same issue with domain names).

 

Registering a trade mark is the only pro-active form of "protection" for a company name (or product/service brand name or ....).

 

Passing off is the next best thing, but only becomes available after a long time (years), with caveats (uninterrupted use of the same mark during that time, provable goodwill <etc.>).

Aren't the registered company name and the Trading name often different though?

It's much more frequent for the registered and trading addresses to be different (with the registered address being that of the company's accountants). Edited October 25, 2016 by L00b

[Berberis]

Incorporating ('registering as a ltd') does not "protect" a company name any more or better than the tort of passing-off does, it only guarantees that no one can incorporate under an identical company name.

 

It does as you cannot have two Limited companies registered in the UK (companies house) with a very similar name, i.e. a name that could cause confusion.

[L00b]

It does as you cannot have two Limited companies registered in the UK (companies house) with a very similar name, i.e. a name that could cause confusion.

On paper you are notionally correct (it hinges on what you mean by 'very similar' and 'causing confusion', and see the linked SI and below about that).

 

In practice, you are not, I am.

 

'Same as' is interpreted as identical, and the minor elements of difference (that are to be disregarded in a comparison of 2 company names) are

blank spaces between or after a word, expression, character, sign or symbol; punctuation including a full stop, comma, colon, semi colon, hyphen, apostrophe, bracket, exclamation mark, question mark; symbol characters like *, =, #, %, + if they are used as one of the first three characters in a name; "s" at the end of a name; "the" and "www" at the beginning of a name; <etc.>

 

In context, see the below (random) example, extracted from Companies House Register:

<...>

SMITHS ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LIMITED

03486709 - Incorporated on 29 December 1997

20 May Avenue, Canvey Island, Essex, SS8 7EE

 

SMITHS ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED

09617979 - Incorporated on 2 June 2015

6a Blackburn Road, Ribchester, Preston, United Kingdom, PR3 3YP

 

SMITHS ACCOUNTANTS & TAX ADVISERS LTD

08933680 - Incorporated on 11 March 2014

5c Cawledge Business Park, Hawfinch Drive, Alnwick, Northumberland, United Kingdom, NE66 2GD

 

SMITHS ACCOUNTANTS HOLDINGS LIMITED

08013810 - Incorporated on 30 March 2012

6a Blackburn Road, Ribchester, Preston, PR3 3YP

<...>

(...and that's before we've looked at the situation of the OP where there is no incorporation, wherein the linked SI is irrelevant since it only applies to registered companies).

 

Not having a go at you Berberis, but this stuff is my bread and butter.

 

If you really want to prevent the risk of a competitor adopting a confusingly similar name (confusing within a commercial context, i.e. wherein you stand to lose sales/reputation/etc), registering a trade mark for the name is the only sure way of achieving that outcome. And you don't need to be/have a registered company to do that, either.

Edited October 26, 2016 by L00b

[Berberis]

On paper you are notionally correct (it hinges on what you mean by 'very similar' and 'causing confusion', and see the linked SI and below about that).

 

In practice, you are not, I am. .

 

Having renamed a business only a few months ago, having gone through the process with Companies House, I am correct in all aspects of the word.

 

However I am referring to the example I had already given, MOVES & REMOVES compared to MOVE & REMOVE. If the information provided by Companies House is to be believed, such a similar name would be refused especially when the nature of business is the same.

Edited October 27, 2016 by Berberis

[L00b]

Having renamed a business only a few months ago, having gone through the process with Companies House, I am correct in all aspects of the word.

Of course you are, Berberis,

 

Bookmarked for the eventual Berberis "I've received a cease-and-desist/letter of claim, now what do I do?" thread

[999tigger]

Am I missing soemthing here? Who is the lawyer............? Irony.

[Berberis]

Of course you are, Berberis,

 

Bookmarked for the eventual Berberis "I've received a cease-and-desist/letter of claim, now what do I do?" thread

 

Well I am. I renamed a limited company and changed its nature of business to fit better and to benefit from the flat rate VAT scheme only a few months ago. I am only going by the documentation I had to fill out and the advise from my accountant who also does this sort of thing also as his "bread and butter".

 

Do you believe that you or I could register a limited company with the name MOVES & REMOVES LIMITED considering there is already a MOVE & REMOVE LIMITED registered this year? Both having the same Nature of Business? I don't and the information from gov.uk would agree.

 

What you can and can’t use

Your name can’t be exactly the same as another registered company’s name - search the Companies House register to see if a name has been taken.

 

Your registered company or LLP name

can’t be similar to (‘too like’ or ‘same as’) another registered name.

 

https://www.gov.uk/choose-company-name

 

---------- Post added 27-10-2016 at 13:54 ----------

 

Am I missing soemthing here? Who is the lawyer............? Irony.

 

Unless Im mistaken, I think L00b and I are at cross purposes. I'm referring to similar names in the sense of pluralising a name. Example in my previous comments. L00b is referring to adding another word to a company name which I have not denied is OK.

 

E.g:

 

"Something Limited" is too similar to "Somethings Limited"

- while -

"Something Limited" is not similar to "Something Else Limited"

 

According to Companies House documentation on naming a business and my experience.

[L00b]

Do you believe that you or I could register a limited company with the name MOVES & REMOVES LIMITED considering there is already a MOVE & REMOVE LIMITED registered this year? Both having the same Nature of Business? I don't and the information from gov.uk would agree.

No I don't, because of what I already posted at #15, relevant portion in bold:

'Same as' is interpreted as identical, and the minor elements of difference (that are to be disregarded in a comparison of 2 company names) are blank spaces between or after a word, expression, character, sign or symbol; punctuation including a full stop, comma, colon, semi colon, hyphen, apostrophe, bracket, exclamation mark, question mark; symbol characters like *, =, #, %, + if they are used as one of the first three characters in a name; "s" at the end of a name; "the" and "www" at the beginning of a name; <etc.>

But you or I could certainly register a limited company with the name MOVE & REMOVAL LIMITED.

 

Doesn't breach the CA2006 & associated SI rules, REMOVAL is insufficiently similar to REMOVE to prevent registration.

 

Though it is, certainly, (confusingly-) similar enough in a trademark sense (aural, visual and conceptual meanings) to infringe a registered trademark for MOVE & REMOVE (assuming you could get it...long shot, for removal services) and/or be deemed a misrepresentation in the course of trade under the tort of passing off.

 

Now, what if MOVE & REMOVAL sets up shop down the street from your MOVE & REMOVE LIMITED and doesn't bother to incorporate?

Unless Im mistaken, I think L00b and I are at cross purposes.

You are not mistaken, you are shifting the goalposts:

Unless Im mistaken, I think L00b and I are at cross purposes. I'm referring to similar names in the sense of pluralising a name. Example in my previous comments. L00b is referring to adding another word to a company name which I have not denied is OK.

This follows from yesterday's:

It does as you cannot have two Limited companies registered in the UK (companies house) with a very similar name, i.e. a name that could cause confusion

Nice Edited October 27, 2016 by L00b
colorised difference