# can I use a name (for a new business venture) that already exists?



## gailey (29 Oct 2007)

I am ready to go with a new business venture and I am now in the process of ordering stationary, business cards etc. I have decided on a name and have searched internet to see if it already exists. It does exist but not in my county. Every name I think of already exists. Am I right in thinking I can still use the name if I am not located near the other business?

Also if I am a sole trader setting up a business do I have to register the name as a business name and do I have to charge vat at the start? I am very nervous starting up and I would appreciate any advice.


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## thunder99 (29 Oct 2007)

*Re: can I use a name that already exists*

It depends if the existing name is a trademark or not. For example in Ireland you can register the name Acme Drinks as your business name with the CRO, but that doesn't prevent anyone else trading under the same name in Ireland. 

If there was a trademark against the name Acme Drinks, you couldn' t use... but that may depend on where the name is trademarked (i.e it might only be trademarked in the UK or US, or have a community/EU trademark).

If you know what countries the name already exists in, you should do a trademark search in those countries (can be done online for free in most countries, just do a search).


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## RedStix (29 Oct 2007)

*Re: can I use a name that already exists*



> I am ready to go with a new business venture and I am now in the process of ordering stationary, business cards etc.


 
Don't go ahead and order stationary e.g. headed paper etc until you have registered with CRO as you need to put your company/business number on the page.



> I have decided on a name and have searched internet to see if it already exists. It does exist but not in my county.


 
To see if it is registered in Ireland, go to www.cro.ie and go to the company search facility. 



> Am I right in thinking I can still use the name if I am not located near the other business?


 
If your business name is already on the cro website, there is still no problem in using that name as there is no restriction on the amount of sole traders that can trade under the same name. Restrictions on what name you can use only come into play if you are registering a limited company. But as the previous poster mentioned, it might be worthwhile checking the trademark register, just to ensure you are not registering a name that is trademarked (FYI - Companies Office do not check the TM register for you). You can check it out at www.patentsoffice.ie and just click on the trademark section.



> Also if I am a sole trader setting up a business do I have to register the name as a business name


 
If you are trading under your own name e.g. John Murphy, then you do not need to register with CRO. If you are trading under any name that differs from your personal name e.g. Murphy Construction, then you need to register with CRO. You can do this by filling out an RBN1 form from the following link: [broken link removed] 
You also need to register with Revenue by filling out a TR1 form which you can get here [broken link removed] 



> do I have to charge vat at the start


 
You can only charge Vat if you are vat registered (which you can register for on the above TR1 form also). Just check whether you HAVE to register for Vat according to how much turnover you think you will have. You can read the Vat info leaflet here - [broken link removed]


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## ubiquitous (29 Oct 2007)

*Re: can I use a name that already exists*



RedStix said:


> as you need to put your company/business number on the page.


Not correct for a sole trader business name.


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## gailey (25 Nov 2007)

*Re: can I use a name that already exists*

Thanks for all the replies. Being a great help. I have posted off registration with cro over a week ago. Should I have received cert by now. I am waiting on cert so I can go to the bank. How long does it usually take?


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## RedStix (25 Nov 2007)

*Re: can I use a name that already exists*

At the moment, its between 7 and 10 working days. You should receive it shortly.


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