Registering new company name in UK/Europe

March 7, 2017 2:21 AM

My wife is looking to set up a company that provides services in Europe, based in the UK. She has a name in mind for the company (and the domain name seems free). How to check if the name she has in mind isn't already taken (trademarked?) by someone else before she goes down the route of buying domain, doing marketing etc?

Further thoughts on things to look out for when registering/purchasing the right to use the name welcome. If any recommendations for a company/service that would do the registering/checking and hosting of this new company/website would be good (no need for e-payment type considerations- services provided would be invoiced separately to client). Would like to avoid scenario of somewhere down the line someone coming along and stating they have prior claim to the name- or are we being paranoid?

posted by Gratishades to Work & Money (2 answers total)

You can check Companies House to see if there's an existing company with the same or a similar name (click 'Find company information'). It doesn't say anything about copyrights/trademarks but it would be a start.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 3:04 AM on March 7, 2017 [2 favorites]

Buy the domain now and then check. A 1 year .co.uk or .com domain can be had for around a tenner (Don't use GoDaddy). Not much of an outlay if it stops someone else snagging your dream domain while you're doing your investigations.
posted by oh pollo! at 3:20 AM on March 7, 2017 [1 favorite]