Website domain secured but Business Name registered with someone else

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lonelyplanet

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My daughter is currently setting up a new venture and registered a website domain for running her business and wants the website name as business name.
When we looked at CRO Companies Reg Office the business name is already registered againt an individual and from I can see is not currently trading.

What is the best way to secure the company name...

Options:
1. Keep the domain and register business name and append it with Ireland in the name ( Business Name Ireland)
2. Contact the person who has registered the name and see they will revoke it
3. Register domain and work away


Grateful for any responses.
 
lonelyplanet said:
When we looked at CRO Companies Reg Office the business name is already registered againt an individual and from I can see is not currently trading.
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I am not a lawyer, but...

Registering a Business Name with the CRO means nothing. It does not give the user the right to use that name.

If your daughter sets up a business Irishplanet and trades under that name she will acquire stronger rights than someone who is not using the name but simply registers it.

If the other guy had registered it as a trademark it would be completely different.

www.companyformations.ie

Registering a Trademark in Ireland | Trademark Registration Ireland

Registering a trademark in Ireland is an effective way to protect products. Any sign capable of being represented graphically can be trademark registered
www.companyformations.ie www.companyformations.ie
 
Towger said:
Brendan is correct registering the name with the CRO gives no protection to the name, you can also register it.
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An example of this is to think of how many Robertos takeaways exist in the country!
 
I'm assuming she has a .com domain name. Anyone can create this and it gives no protection.

Even if the other person was trading there'd be no issues if your daughter was in a different field of business. Eg, McDonald's

McDonald's cycles
McDonald's shoes
McDonald's convenience store

If she's registering a ltd company, I'd go for a different company name and then a registered trading name.

If it's just a small business and she just needs a registered name, proceed as planned and maybe add a descriptive word at the end.
 
peemac said:
Even if the other person was trading there'd be no issues if your daughter was in a different field of business. Eg, McDonald's

McDonald's cycles
McDonald's shoes
McDonald's convenience store
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That's an unfortunate example. The McDonald's fast food company is notorious for pursuing businesses that use the name McDonald's.
 
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T McGibney said:
That's an unfortunate example. The McDonald's fast food company is notorious for pursuing businesses that use the name McDonald's.
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They are real examples.

Once it has no conflicting business there's nothing that can be done.
 
peemac said:
They are real examples.

Once it has no conflicting business there's nothing that can be done.
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My point stands, and it goes much deeper than McDonald's.

Try registering eg Centra Barbers, and you'll certainly be hearing from Musgrave Group.
 
Confirming that the registration of business names as Mr Burgess said means you can register whatever name you want apart from profanities for example. The point about the likes of Musgraves would have to be pursued under the doctrine of passing off. Large companies do pursue that and the other points are well made.
 
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lonelyplanet said:
What is the best way to secure the company name...
Click to expand...

Ideally she might have done both tasks, i.e. capture the domain name and business name (if it wasn't already used by another person) almost simultaneously as we can now do this online.

This is because domain name traders look at new start-ups and pre-empt their getting a suitable domain name by buying all the likely ones, e.g. mybiz.ie, mybiz.com, mybiz.eu, etc.

Other parasites watch new domain or business name registrations and then capture the limited company equivalent. Limited company names **must** be unique. So that's a real sucker punch for those who start a business as a sole trader but may later find it advantageous to switch to the single director limited company structure. As before it may be best for the latter businesspeople to capture the limited company name first, then the domain name and the business name.

We have to live and learn like the rest of mankind.
 
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