Can I protect my business name as a sole trader?

[Dameize]

I dont know about Australia and the US etc but in Britain you would typically be a sole trader if operating by your self. If you register your business name it has to be as an LTD, PLC etc.

Anyway, without doing that can I still protect my name? Personally I think its a pretty good name and I have secured the domain and whatnot for it (it was taken for everything, I won the .co.uk cheaply though)

I have my logo and whatnot but dont want to trade untill I know my name is protected as trust me when I say this but over here people will stoop to stealing my name and forcing me out of using it if they can.

If worse comes to worse and no body knows anything Im going to just register it as an LTD and make it dormant and then operate under it as a sole trader.

By the way, an interesting bit for the topic has anyone stolen your name before?
Thanks.

 

[Knightsman]

Im in the US, and from what I understand is if you notice someone using your name, in your area, you can take them to court, and it comes down to who had the name first, but you have to be able to prove it in court.

Getting your name registred with the tax office, state office, federal, helps to keep your name.

 

[Cambridge PC Support]

If you've got a business banking account, then it'll probably show as Fred Bloggs Trading As Pterodactyl Techs or whatever, so you can show your first ever bank statement as proof.

Also, if you web domain name is your company name then you'll probably have your domain cert.

Old invoices to you will show your company name and a date as well.

 

[PCSupportGlasgow]

even registering it as dormant wont protect your trading name. It will stop others from registering the limited company name but the trading name is a totally different entity.

easiest way to describe is think of hairdressers. different ltd company names but lots trading under the same corny slogan name eg "a cut above" etc.

Certainly if in same area you can do something about it but otherwise your up the prevervial creek.

which is why the big boys go down other routes to protect names eg register names as trademarks.

 

[PC-Technix]

Im in the US, and from what I understand is if you notice someone using your name, in your area, you can take them to court, and it comes down to who had the name first, but you have to be able to prove it in court.

Getting your name registred with the tax office, state office, federal, helps to keep your name.

I'm also in the US.

Just to add, if somebody is in SC(South Carolina) and has the same name they can because it's a different state.

I live in KY and registered with a Fed's with a EIN number and also registered in KY. Even though a company can register in SC with the same name, it's the EIN number that is different per company which sets them apart federally.

If you have a .com and it is registered in the company name it's that, that sets you apart nationally.

I think if you have it TM'd and then you find somebody using your name in that country, then if you want to, you can take them to court.

But hey, isn't that type of thing for McDonald's and Coke-Cola or should I say for the multi billion dollar companies?

 

[Dameize]

Well for the sake of five pound ive registered it as an LTD and intend to make it dormant.

Am I right to asume i can operate as a sole trader while having a dormant ltd?