Company Name

swarlb

Maybe this is the wrong place for this question, but here goes..
If I was to register a company name in Ireland, and its available, as in nobody else is using it (in Ireland) what happens if a company from another country with the same name objects.
let me choose an extreme example, say for argument sake 'Ford Motor Co Ltd' did not exist here, and I registered a company name called 'The Ford Motor Co Ltd', simply because my name is 'Joe Ford', and then a year down the line Ford decide to sell cars here, what happens, do I have to change ? Is there laws governing company names, even if they are not registered in particular countries.

dbran

Hi

You wont have to change because the Registrar of companies in Ireland only has control over all the companies that are registered in Ireland. So the foreign company cant object to the CRO because they are not a company formed in Ireland.

This does not mean that you could be in trouble because the foreign company can still take an action against you if you are deemed to be passing yourself off as them. This would be a legal matter and would depend on the relevant facts of the case.

Regards

dbran

Mr Simpson

I'd imagine you could also be infringing on trademarks etc, even though there may not be a company formed here.