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Company name and registration problem

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  • 11-01-2018 5:27pm
    #1
    OleRodrigo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,514 ✭✭✭


    Recently, myself and my wife setup a ltd company - lets call it ' Farnworth Retailing Solutions Ltd' . We registered the name and company with the CRO and received a certificate of incorporation etc. We then opened a bank account, registered for Tax. We then secured a lease on a rental premises, setup shop and started to get ready to trade.

    I was getting ready to build a website when I discovered someone else had bought the domain ' farnworthretailing.ie '. They also had additional internet collateral on Facebook and Instagram under the same name, which is the same as ours minus the ' solutions ' .

    They aren't registered with the CRO and appear to have been operating as a sole trader for about a year prior to our registration as a LTD in 2016.Who has the right to the domain and company name if they are so similar?

    This is obviously a problem as we intend to build our brand and having a name so close to our own I think will negatively impact our plans.

    Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.


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    #2
    CIARAN_BOYLE
    Registered Users Posts: 14,599 ✭✭✭✭CIARAN_BOYLE


    You own your company name. They own their domain.

    Both entities are at risk of facing legal action should they attempt to pass themselves off as the other.


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    #3
    OleRodrigo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,514 ✭✭✭OleRodrigo


    CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »
    You own your company name. They own their domain.

    Both entities are at risk of facing legal action should they attempt to pass themselves off as the other.


    Does a CRO registered entity have greater rights over an ie.domain name....and should a company get an .ie domain in the first place when their name is so similar to that CRO registered company?


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    #4
    CIARAN_BOYLE
    Registered Users Posts: 14,599 ✭✭✭✭CIARAN_BOYLE


    OleRodrigo wrote: »
    Does a CRO registered entity have greater rights over an ie.domain name....and should a company get an .ie domain in the first place when their name is so similar to that CRO registered company?

    They own their domain. They have it set up. It's first come first served and they have had for a year longer than your company existed,


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    #5
    OleRodrigo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,514 ✭✭✭OleRodrigo


    CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »
    They own their domain. They have it set up. It's first come first served and they have had for a year longer than your company existed,

    No they bought the domain a year after ours was registered with CRO.


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    #6
    CIARAN_BOYLE
    Registered Users Posts: 14,599 ✭✭✭✭CIARAN_BOYLE


    OleRodrigo wrote: »
    No they bought the domain a year after ours was registered with CRO.

    Ok you said in your ok they had it prior to your registration.

    Either way domains is a first come first served thing. They have it and they own it. If you want it you can buy it off them or pick a different domain. Unless you can prove they are attempting to pass themselves off as you.


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    #7
    OleRodrigo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,514 ✭✭✭OleRodrigo


    CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »
    Ok you said in your ok they had it prior to your registration.

    Either way domains is a first come first served thing. They have it and they own it. If you want it you can buy it off them or pick a different domain. Unless you can prove they are attempting to pass themselves off as you.

    Apologies, I should have clarified - they used the name for social media promotion, not a domain. They registered that in January.

    Its probably something to take up with the IE domain reg authority. I thought they only handed out domains to registered businesses.


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    #8
    irishmoss
    Closed Accounts Posts: 194 ✭✭irishmoss


    You should also consider applying for a Trade Name
    https://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/About-Us/Frequently-Asked-Questions/Trade-Marks/

    Is the other company supplying the exact same services?


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    #9
    Lockedout2
    Registered Users Posts: 402 ✭✭Lockedout2


    To get a .ie domain they will have a cert of reg of business name.

    So they have a right to use the domain.


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    #10
    Graham
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    OleRodrigo wrote: »
    I thought they only handed out domains to registered businesses.
    Lockedout2 wrote: »
    To get a .ie domain they will have a cert of reg of business name.

    Not so much anymore. Discretionary names have been around for a while and I understand things are getting further relaxed (if that haven't been already).


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    #11
    CIARAN_BOYLE
    Registered Users Posts: 14,599 ✭✭✭✭CIARAN_BOYLE


    OleRodrigo wrote: »
    Apologies, I should have clarified - they used the name for social media promotion, not a domain. They registered that in January.

    Its probably something to take up with the IE domain reg authority. I thought they only handed out domains to registered businesses.

    Nope they hand domains to anyone who can show they have a connection with Ireland and a connection with the name.

    First come first served.


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    #12
    jmcc
    Registered Users Posts: 7,411 ✭✭✭jmcc


    They have rights as they have used the domain name in trade. They may also be using the domain name for e-mail. Having domain names pointed to Facebook or Social Media pages rather than a website is an increasing trend.

    A company registration does not confer any such rights.

    You do not have a trademark on the term registered as a domain name.

    They got there first. This is a lot more important than it seems as they can demonstrate use of the domain name and that they were unaware of your existence.

    Your example "Farnworth Retailing Solutions" is different to "Farnworth Retailing". You have provided no evidence, in this hypothetical, that your company is known as "Farnworth Retailing" or referred to as such. Even the CRO registration, when omitting the Limited or Ltd, is different.

    If the domain name means that much to you, make an offer. Otherwise don't waste time worrying about it and choose a new domain name and protect it with a trademark. You don't necessarily need to change the company name as you can just file a business name registration with CRO.

    Just to repeat this important point: "Farnworth Retailing Solutions" is not the same as "Farnworth Retailing".

    Regards...jmcc


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    #13
    pedroeibar1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,108 ✭✭✭pedroeibar1


    JMMC and Ciaran B are correct. Change, you do not want that fight.
    Penneys ran into that problem in the early 1970's. The US firm of JC Penney had the name registered in the US and the UK. They took an action against the Irish company when it opened its first shops in England to prevent them using it. They lost in Ireland and Scotland and won in England; the issue for the Irish compamy was branding - it could not have 'Penneys' on the labels in England so it created 'Primark' which was used on labels everywhere and over the door only in England.

    Another case was the Crate & Barrell one a decade or so ago, taken by the huge US co of that name against an Irish Co. They sued, they settled and the Irish owners walked with a sizeable pot and used a new name.


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