If you are a start up company and are in the process of naming your company and then registering it, it would pay to consider if you are encroching on any trademarks that already exisit.

Usually, especially in the UK, it is very common for small companies to come up with a name and then register it with out thinking about trademark laws. But trademarking is becoming a serious issue and large companies are always on the look out for any such infringements.

Time and again, I have seen clients sign up to our logo design services in the UK, with names that are close to or the exact same (with perhaps little additions) as large brands. We are reluctant to take up such projects because at the end of the day, if a large company decides to take up the case, then as professional designers, we are also partly responsible for the trademark infringement.

My advice would be that when you conduct a search for a name at the companies house, it would also pay to read about what could be considered as trademark infringement with the UK Patent and Trademark Office. You could also spend an hour searching online and learning about trademark facts.

If you have any thoughts on this issue, I would like to invite you to share it with us by posting a comment below.