Companies House and the Intellectual Property Office offer monitoring services that alert you if the same or a similar company name or trademark is registered. Similar services are operated by some foreign registries. Private businesses offer a package of monitoring services, monitoring both official registries and also other sources, such as the web, regularly checking for same or similar names across various search engines. Your lawyer can advise on what's available and which is right for you.
You will need to take prompt action if a name is reported that you object to.
Negotiation is often the best solution but you can end up in a formal dispute. If you do, be careful. You'll often have multiple, overlapping remedies. For example:
- there is a procedure for objecting to the Registrar of Companies if a similar company name is registered (see question ten);
- there is a quick, easy remedy in cases of flagrant domain name abuse ('cybersquatting'), eg where a name has been registered deliberately to sell to you;
- you can bring an action in the Courts for trade mark infringement (see questions seven and eight) or for 'passing-off' where you have no registered trade mark (see question six).
Different criteria apply in each case. You need expert legal advice and a risk assessment to make sure you choose the right remedies to pursue, and that you co-ordinate them effectively. If you make the wrong choices, the dispute can be longer and nastier than it needs to be.
