how do I buy the "name " for my business

[peterpeter]

I am thinking of buying the name of my business.

How do I go about doing this??

[alexkp]

Not sure what you are asking...

Are you buying the name from another party?

Or are you really wishing to register a name you have originated?

[greg_D]

you need to get in touch with the patent office and after registration, you need to register with Companies house.

That is the best answer i can give with the information you have provided

Greg

[peterpeter]

yep sorry, its my business, and I just want to get the name registered with myself and check that its not being used by anyone else.

[Carrera2]

greg_D said:

you need to get in touch with the patent office and after registration, you need to register with Companies house. That is the best answer i can give with the information you have provided Greg

Nothing to do with the Patent office.

[thunderstruck]

www.companieshouse.gov.uk/infoAndGuide/companyRegistration.shtml

[alexkp]

peterpeter said:

yep sorry, its my business, and I just want to get the name registered with myself and check that its not being used by anyone else.

Just ring them up, and do a name check. It's free IIRC.

[cliffe_mafia]

I thought Companies House registration was just for Limited Companies???

[cptsideways]

You mean trademarking the name?

[wedg1e]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Pop across to the Companies House website and you can even do it online...

[greg_D]

Carrera2 said:

greg_D said: you need to get in touch with the patent office and after registration, you need to register with Companies house. That is the best answer i can give with the information you have provided Greg Nothing to do with the Patent office.

it is if there is any intellectual property that you want to safeguard

Greg

[srebbe64]

peterpeter said:

yep sorry, its my business, and I just want to get the name registered with myself and check that its not being used by anyone else.

Yeah, it's best not to have the same name twice "peterpeter"!

[JonRB]

I'm confused as to what you're asking.

You can register a company with Companies House and you will have gained some legal rights to the name. You can also register a trademark if that is appropriate.

In neither cases does that give you ownership in the sense of owning property. Is someone infringes your trademark or "passes off" on your company name you have to sue and your company name and/or trademark will be legal ammunition. However, success isn't automatic.

What are you actually trying to achieve here?

[Eric Mc]

There is no legal requirement to register business names in the UK.

If you want to run your business through a limited coimapny, then the limited company has to be registered at Companies House. All companies have names (naturally) and you will not be allowed to register a company name that is identical with or likely to cause confusion with a pre-existing registered limited company.

On the other hand, if you are running your business as a sole trader or through a partnership, you do not have to register the name of the business anywhere.

[Tony427]

Register the Company and its name at Companies House.

If you wish to use the name as a Trademark you need to register it with the Patent Office. £180 and three months later, if no one objects, you are the registered owner of a trademark protecting your brand from fraudulent traders using your brandname.

You can check if your name is already used as a trademark online at the Patent Office website.

Cheers,

Tony

[Eric Mc]

DO NOT set up a limited company until you have decided that you want to run your new business in this way. Running a limited company is much more complex and difficult compared to a sole trader.

At the very least, talk to a competent accountant about the various business vehicles possible and don't make any decisions until you have done so.

[JonRB]

Sounds advice from Eric MC, as ever.

We made this mistake a few years ago. Set up a Ltd. company simply to protect the name when the business model would have suited a Sole Trader far better. After almost a year of trading the Patent Office introduced their free search and we did a trademark search and discovered we were infringing a registered trademark with the company name (but the owner hadn't noticed). So we wound up the company.

Live & learn, eh?

[peterpeter]

thanks for all the advice ...cheers

[boosted ls1]

Tell you what, what is the name you want to use?

Take it from there

Boosted.

[medusa]

Have a word with your accountant, mine did the checks and registered the name for me.