denchomsky

I registered a domain name for a client on the 18th of sept, for whom I am building a website, I have received an email from a person who registered the same name with companies house on the 17th of sept, (bizzare I know) they are now threatening legal action unless my client changes the domain of their website stating that it is illegal for them to trade under this name as they hold the trading name.

What is my clients position on this?

Cheers

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grantw

Is it generic? Has your client been trading under the name previously, offline?

It's tough to answer without knowing the domain and circumstances/background.

Grant

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springer

How long has your client been in business? What type of business is it? Are the client's located near each other? Do they do the same thing?

tifosi

when did your client start trading using that name?

AFAIK it's not the case that 2 companies can't use the same 'trading' name, but they can't have the same LTD company name at companies house. I'm no expert though!

Your clients trading history and status are important.

Probably the case the other party have gone to the trouble & cost of setting up the company & are now somewhat panicking.

denchomsky

Both people I believe are setting up companies doing the same thing in the same area, one registered the name with CH on the 17th I registered the names on the 18th, I believe both companies are brand new and have no trading history.

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grantw

Sounds like it might get a bit messy. Are you sure it's all a coincidence??

Grant

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tifosi

Is it a 'generic' company name, does it involve client surnames etc?

Again, no expert, but unless there's trademark infringement, there's nothing wrong with this.

A lot of caveats though possibly. Is there no info on the companies house site about trading & company names?

With Grant... coincidence? or do the 2 parties have any 'history'?

If so... i'd step well back!

This is a good link... http://www.out-law.com/page-9335. There may be issues of lack of goodwill as they're both start-ups.

denchomsky

I am pretty sure they don't know each other and it is a coincidence.
The name is not generic, has no surnames in it.

It seems that they are unhappy about any reference to the company name they have registered in the website, and are using this for grounds.

As the website is still under construction and no text is finalised this is a bit premature IMO.

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grantw

Your client should probably have a think about whether it's worth the legal fees and hassle fighting it. I think they're definitely going to need paid expert advice to get a clear understanding of where they stand on this.

Grant

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Rob_F

Ask them if they have trademark, and if so what goods and services are associated with the trademark, and the date such rights were acquired.

If not, and I'm guessing that's the case - I'd tell them that .co.uk domains are registered on a first-come first-served basis and that you are going to proceed as planned. The fact that they failed to register the domain name is just bad planning on their part.

By itself, registration of a name as a limited company at Companies House gives you no rights, it simply stops someone else registering the same name for another limited company.

- Rob