How to Register a Brand Name – There can be a lot to think about when starting a new business – not least what you’re going to call it. Registering a business at Companies House provides you with a lot of rules about what you must and must not include in your choice of name and provides protection against another company starting with a name similar to yours.
It is likely, however, that you will want to also choose a trading name to build your brand on. Company names tend to be long, descriptive and quite frankly a bit boring – like “Flibble Engineering and Industrial Processes Ltd”.
A trading name also needs careful consideration, and you may want to speak to brand naming consultants to choose the best name for your industry. A trading name lacks any sort of legal protection unless you take the step of registering it as a trademark to ensure no one else can use it.
Start By Getting Creative
Brainstorm a nice long list of ideas for your brand name. Let the creative juices flow and write them all down. They can be based on your name, your company name, your product, an acronym or even just a made-up word that happens to catch your imagination.
Check Your Ideas Are Available
Your next step is to make sure that no one else is using the names you’ve come up with. Search the Intellectual Property Office register and scratch off any names that are already in use or similar to names already in use. At this stage, it’s important that you think of numerous potential names rather than setting your sights on one as, more often than not, what could be the perfect brand name for you is likely to already be taken.
It can also be a good idea to check if the domain for your chosen brand name is already taken and with whom you will be sharing near-misses.
How to Register a Brand Name – If you type brand.co.uk (or .com or .biz etc) into your web browser and it says “site not found” you should be good to go. Any other responses may mean someone already owns the domain name.
Think Ahead
Your brand may be – well brand new – but a trademark registration lasts for 10 years so it may be wise to think about your business plan. What classifications must you register now – and what will you be looking at registering in the future?
If you are considering international trading, you will need to check that your proposed name will be acceptable abroad – that it isn’t already in use as a trademark and that it doesn’t come across as rude or vulgar. One of the strengths of brand name consultants is that they understand international trademarking and will be able to advise you on the perfect name to support your company both now, and in the future.
A Picture Paints A Thousand Words
Once you’ve decided on your brand name you will probably want to create a logo to trademark at the same time. Logos allow create a strong visual identity and again, professional help from a brand name consultant ensures that your logo embodies everything you aspire to in your brand. Again, you will need to ensure it doesn’t clash with any existing logos.
Fill In The Forms
Once you’ve decided on a name and logo you can go ahead and register the trademark. You can fill in a form online, or for a slightly higher fee send it in on paper. Additional classifications add to the cost of applying for a trademark and can be revoked if you don’t use them. The IPO offers a “Right Start” service to check your trademark meets the rules, but it is not as comprehensive as the service a consultant provides. Your provisional trademark is then published for 2 months and, if there are no objections, you will receive a certificate stating your claim.
