Protecting My Name

Empty Fridge

Hello all,
I am a registered sole trader, trading under the name of my website. However, I have not yet registerd my company name. I need to know what I have to do to protect my name. Is owning the website address enough to grant me the rights to protect that name, or do I have to register the company name (which is the name of my site, i.e. www.????.ie).

What must I do? I have no trademark registration or intellectual property registration or anything of the sort.

I am worried that someone else may register the name somehow, and then put me in a very difficult position.

Thanks very much
-Fridge

Tenshot

I believe you are legally required to register your business name with the CRO if you are running a business using anything other than your own name.

See the CRO website for more info.

This won't give you any particular protection though it may make any domain name dispute down the road a little easier to resolve in your favour (since you can show prior use of the name for legitimate purposes).

If you incorporate as a limited company, then you can register the company itself which will give you the protection you're looking for.

(Disclaimer: This is as I understand it, but I'm by no means an expert.)

Empty Fridge

As far as I remember, I have already gone through the CRO to register as a sole trader. I have registered as (me), trading as (my website). It is necessary to register to get a .ie address.

"If you incorporate as a limited company, then you can register the company itself which will give you the protection you're looking for."

- sorry but could you explain this a little further? Do I, as a sole trader have to become a limited company? What is the procedure for that? Do you know where I should go to do this?

Cheers

madramor

Empty Fridge wrote:

Hello all,
I am a registered sole trader, trading under the name of my website. However, I have not yet registerd my company name. I need to know what I have to do to protect my name. Is owning the website address enough to grant me the rights to protect that name, or do I have to register the company name (which is the name of my site, i.e. www.????.ie).

What must I do? I have no trademark registration or intellectual property registration or anything of the sort.

I am worried that someone else may register the name somehow, and then put me in a very difficult position.

Thanks very much
-Fridge

:registered business name gives no protection to name
:owning the website gives no protection to name
:registering as X ltd gives some protection to the X but not muchtd"

the only way to protect your name is to register it as a trademark.
it costs 70euro to apply and then 177euro to register
its very simple check out http://www.patentsoffice.ie/trademark.html

Tenshot

Empty Fridge wrote:

sorry but could you explain this a little further? Do I, as a sole trader have to become a limited company? What is the procedure for that? Do you know where I should go to do this?

What I meant was that if you had a limited company with the same name as your web site, it would be difficult for someone to take the name away. There is no legal obligation to create a limited company though, and many people operate as Sole Traders in Ireland (most small shops, for example). The procedure for setting up a limited company is described on the CRO website.

madramor's suggestion of trademarking the name is probably what you're looking for though: likely more effective, and cheaper and less hassle to boot!

antoinolachtnai

i wouldn't go registering a trademark yourself if I were you. Use a reputable agent. There are an awful lot of invalid trademarks on the register's books, because the people who registered them just didn't know what they were doing.

Still, I suppose a duff registration is better than nothing.

The other thing you have to remember is that you have to be prepared to go to the High Court to protect your name if you become aware of an infringement. This is regardless of what trademarks or company names you have registered. Costs about five or ten grand a throw.

I suppose my point is that this is expensive stuff to do properly.

madramor

antoinolachtnai wrote:

i wouldn't go registering a trademark yourself if I were you. Use a reputable agent. There are an awful lot of invalid trademarks on the register's books, because the people who registered them just didn't know what they were doing.

1:
it is very simple
2:
look at the trade mark some of your competitors in the same business
have and register in the same section.
3:
there is lots of information on the website i gave you
4:
the only difference between you and a trade mark agent is that maybe
they have read the info on the website.
i looked into a agent and found them to be absolutely clueless and they
just read some info on the website as there sales pitch.
take some time to study the website and then contact a agent and
i guarantee you will be able to ask then questions they cannot answer.
5:

antoinolachtnai wrote:

Still, I suppose a duff registration is better than nothing.

the only decision you have to make about registering your trade mark
is what category to register it in.
So it is virtually impossible to make a mistake,you register with the
patents office so they ensure that your TM is valid.
the person quoted above has an alterior motive or is too stupid to
understand how simple it is to register a TM

antoinolachtnai wrote:

The other thing you have to remember is that you have to be prepared to go to the High Court to protect your name if you become aware of an infringement. This is regardless of what trademarks or company names you have registered. Costs about five or ten grand a throw.

I suppose my point is that this is expensive stuff to do properly.

more crap
yes it costs money to go to the high court, but if you have a trademark
the opposition has no case.
there is nothing more expensive than 70+177+postage to register a
TM the high court was only mentioned above to try and scare you
into thing that this is a very complicated issue which it is not

antoinolachtnai

First, I am not stupid.

I don't have an alterior motive, whatever that is.

You are incorrect to believe that just because a trademark has been registered, that it is valid and worthwhile.

You are incorrect to think that just because there are a great many chancers registering trademarks, that they are all incompetent, or that their role is irrelevant.

You are badly mistaken if you think that what is contained on the patents office website is anything like a summary of national and international trademark law.

I would venture to suggest that you have never been to the High Court to assert a trademark (as I have).

I can tell you that it is definitely not true to say that 'if you have a trademark the opposition has no case'.

If anyone is in any doubt about this stuff, go and see a solicitor.

ranDom_tAsk

I'm in the process of setting up as a sole trader. I have a business name registered with the cro and is visible on their site, I also have a .net name registered the same as my business name. My next step is to register for VAT, which I'm doing tomorrow.

vector

Tenshot wrote:

I believe you are legally required to register your business name with the CRO if you are running a business using anything other than your own name.

Yes that is correct.

But be careful "John Smith" may be acceptable but "John Smith Catering Services" is not your own name.