Don’t be fooled into thinking that registration of your company name at Companies House will provide you with trade mark protection....it could be a very expense mistake!

Failure to check if the name you are trading under is free for use as a trade mark may result in you unintentionally infringing the registered trade mark rights of others and expose you to damages and an expensive re-brand.

It is a common misconception that if you have registered your company name at Companies House then you are free to begin trading using your company name as a trade mark – this is not true!.

Registration of your company name at Companies House prevents another limited company from having an identical name. However, company law is different from trade mark law and your Companies House registration does not give you the right to begin trading using your company name as a trade mark.

Before using your trade mark, it is important to check that it is free for use. If you fail to do this and the mark has already been registered with someone else, then you could be forced to stop trading and re-brand.

Once you know your trade mark is free for use, the next step is to apply to register your trade mark at the UK Intellectual Property Office. This can be complex and you should always use the services of a qualified trade mark or patent attorney. Once your trade mark is registered, you can prevent others using or registering the same or similar trade mark with the same or similar goods and services.

Click here to use GreenLight BrandCheck to check if your trade mark is free for use – avoid expensive mistakes. We can give you the answers you need – all you need to do is take two minutes to give use a few important details about your trade mark and we will do the rest!