Trading name

[pete]

Hi all,

Pretty sure I read a thread here on this topic, but could I find it!

Anyway, The thread basically said something about being able to register your trading name as a trademark to protect it but that it could be a long winded process (bit like this post I'm writing).

What I'm wondering is, could you register it as a company name and have the company listed as inactive/not trading or something and just carry on using the trading name?

Thanks

[JaneOwen]

Hi Pete

Yes, you could register your trading name as a trademark but there are some requirements the trading name would have to meet for it to qualify as a trademark. It costs £200 minimum in fees to the Patent Office plus if you get a trademark attorney or the like to do it for you there would be additional fees to them. It usually doesn't take too long, and isn't that long winded

You could register as a company and that would give your name a level of protection too. It's not quite the same as registering as a trademark - depending on what you want to acheive it might be a good idea to do both.

There's some info on my website which you may find useful at http://www.vitalproductsolutions.co....nd_patents.htm

I'm a bit confused about the bit where you refer to leaving the company as inactive/not trading - why do you want to do this?
Hope that helps

[pete]

Hi Jane,

Thanks for the advice.

I'm a bit confused about the bit where you refer to leaving the company as inactive/not trading - why do you want to do this?

Well I was thinking of killing a two birds with one stone. At this moment I don't really want to incorporate and trade as a company ( but this may change) so I thought if I at least register the company name it might protect the trading name and at the same time stop anyone else registering it as a company. Bit like buying domain names for future use.

That was my theory, anyway.

Thanks again

[JaneOwen]

Ah, now I get it

You might want to have a read through at http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/abo...ba10.shtml#one
just so you're aware of the implications of having a 'dormant' company.
Makes gripping reading but best to be aware of the admin you'll be letting yourself in for. It's not too onerous but you need to weigh up whether it's worth it for the amount of protection your trading name will get compared with trade marking.

[pete]

Gordon Bennet!

I only briefly skimmed the link you sent me, but it seems having a dormant or non-trading company involves as much as actually trading, which is one of the main reasons I dont want to trade as a company for now.

I will have a good read through later, then shoot myself.

Thanks for the link.

[JaneOwen]

LOL Sorry to scare you but briefly skimming through you seem to have got the gist of it :-)

Trademarking is complicated but very 'do-able' so if you need more info, give me a shout.

[pete]

Thanks Jane!

[Callsign]

Here in the US it is easy, and under Common Law/ Not statutory Law(common law here in the states is higher then statutory) you can trademark your product for a year without actually spending the money. Make a self address stamped envelope to yourself, send it through the snail mail back to yourself and write when your first product under that name was sold, and what the product is.

[JaneOwen]

Oh dear. It is a straightfoward process to register a trademark in the US, as it is in the UK, but that is not how you should do it!

You can establish a trademark by using it lawfully. You will get more protection by registering it. This can be done by filling in a form and paying fees to the US Patent Office - you can use an attorney but you do not necessarily have to.

It's worth pointing out that you should not use the "®" symbol in relation to your trademark unless it has been registered.

There is lots more info on
http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
for the US - and for the UK go to
http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/index.htm
or try my site for an overview of copyrights, designs and patents
http://www.vitalproductsolutions.co....nd_patents.htm