Things to consider in choosing a name for your business
Your identity
A name gives you an identity and is how you want to be remembered to differentiate you from others in your market. If you are a new business, the process of choosing a name is an important step and an important investment. Here are some things to consider:
Is your name for your company or for a product or service? Are the corresponding domain names free? If so, snap them up once you have been through the exercise below.
Get some help
Choose a name, with the help of those with marketing expertise, that will help your company or product stand o
ut and convey the message you want. Choosing a descriptive name, for example ‘Computer specialists’ if you are an IT company, is not going to help you get ahead in the market as anyone else can do the same and the name is not inherently distinctive.
Accepted wisdom in the past has been that invented names, e.g. KODAK and PEPSI, are the best (at least in terms of trade mark registrability). However, dictionary words such as APPLE or ORANGE, which are now famous brands, can also make excellent trade names (if they are not for fruit!) if someone else hasn’t already claimed them for anything similar to your goods or services.
Incidentally, if the mark is famous, the best policy is to keep well away from it even if you think that your goods and services are quite dissimilar.
Brand extension in other countries
Think in terms of the extension of your market - which countries would you like to operate in? What connotations would your name have in other languages?
In Spain or Latin America a car called NOVA (General Motors’ Chevy Nova) would give the idea of “it does not wo
rk” since ‘No va’ means ‘it doesn’t go’.
One can learn from past faux pas of major corporations in their PR campaigns in order to be cautious about linguistic nuances when dealing with other cultures. In Taiwan, Pepsi’s advertising slogan ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ was translated as ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.’ Rolls Royce’s SILVER MIST car in German became ‘Silver Animal Droppings’ car. Schweppes Tonic Water was conveyed as Schweppes Toilet Water in Italy. All because of not getting in local expertise.
Of course, it can work the other way around. The Scandinavian Electrolux company had to be told that ‘Nothing sucks like an Electrolux’ wasn’t necessarily the best slogan in English if you are trying to sell vacuum cleaners!
Think of your logo too. Successful companies always have a visual as well as oral message. Remember to get your designer to assign or transfer their copyright in the design when you pay them so that you are free to protect the artwork component of your trade mark logo.
And finally, remember that just because you have a Companies House registration, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your name is either free to use or is protectable as a trade mark. If someone has the sam
e or similar name as a registered trade mark with effect in the UK, you could be infringing their rights if your area of commercial activity is anything like theirs. The law around company names and the law on trade marks are quite different.
Once you have a list of possible names and/or logos, it’s time to look at the risks and ask an attorney to help you with an availability search. If your mark is free, consider registering it without delay!
The author of this article is Dr. Roman Cholij, registered UK and European Trade Mark Attorney from Cam Trade Marks & IP Services. He works as adviser to Business Link East and East of England International and is an accredited lecturer and presenter for the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys and the Licensing Executives Society (LES) International. He is chairman of the Brand Committee of the LES Britain and Ireland.
For more information see: www.camtrademarks.com. We give free initial advice so feel free to contact us at 01223 353299 or email:
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