A company name dispute is what happens when the name a business trades under clashes with someone else's trademark, or with a name another business has already built a reputation in. Registering a company at Companies House doesn't give you the right to trade under that name, and the courts have decided plenty of company name disputes where that came as a surprise. These are the cases I think every business owner can learn from, whether you're about to send, or have just received, a cease and desist letter.
What is a company name dispute?
Most of these cases turn on one or more of three questions:
- Does the trading name infringe a registered trademark? The court compares the name with the registered mark and asks whether the average customer is likely to be confused about who they're dealing with.
- Is it passing off? This protects a name that isn't registered. The owner has to show goodwill (real customers who know the name), a misrepresentation, and damage.
- Is there a defence? The usual ones are using your own name honestly, or two businesses having used similar names side by side for years without trouble.
Companies House approval isn't one of them. It checks your name against other company names, not against the trademark register or the names other businesses actually trade under.
Can you always trade under your own name?
Reed Executive v Reed Business Information
A publishing business used its own company name on a jobs website. The court found this did not infringe the REED trademark or amount to passing off, apart from an early version of the site that had since been dropped. Using your own company name online isn't automatically infringement; the context matters.
Read our summaryASSOS v ASOS
The online fashion retailer ASOS's sign would have infringed the ASSOS cycling brand's trademark, but ASOS relied successfully on the own name defence, so no injunction followed. Part of the UK ASOS registration was also found invalid. A technical trademark win can lead nowhere if the other side has a valid own name defence.
Read our summaryHotel Cipriani v Cipriani
A London restaurant trading as Cipriani infringed the trademark of the famous Hotel Cipriani, a business based outside the UK, and was liable for passing off. The court rejected both an own name defence and a claim that the family shared the goodwill in the name. Sharing a family name with a famous business doesn't give you the right to trade on it.
Summary coming soonOch-Ziff v Och Capital
A small London investment firm trading as OCH Capital was found to infringe the OCH and OCH-ZIFF trademarks of a global hedge fund, and to have committed passing off, even though the OCH nickname came from the founder's own surname. Carrying on with a similar name after a complaint letter can wreck any claim to be acting honestly.
Summary coming soonWhen two similar names have traded side by side
IPC Media v Media 10
The publisher of Ideal Home magazine claimed the Ideal Home Show's online shop infringed its trademark. The court found no infringement, because the two names had coexisted honestly in the same market for a long time. Long, honest coexistence can block a later claim.
Read our summaryCaspian Pizza
A pizza chain's UK-wide CASPIAN trademarks were declared invalid because a rival restaurant in Worcester had already built up local goodwill in the same name before the marks were registered. A small, local business using a name first can sink a whole UK registration, not just protect its own patch.
Read our summaryWalton International v Verweij Fashion
A clothing group based outside the UK had its UK and EU GIORDANO trademarks mostly revoked for non-use, and was itself found liable for passing off against a rival that had used GIORDANO in Europe since 1989. Owning a registration isn't enough if you don't actually sell under it there.
Read our summaryMerck KGaA v Merck Sharp & Dohme
Two unrelated businesses share the Merck name. One lost its appeal against a ruling that its online use of Merck in the UK breached a 2020 injunction protecting the other's exclusive UK rights to the name. Online content aimed at UK users can count as use in the UK, even on a site built mainly for another country.
Read our summaryPutting someone else's name next to yours
BMW v Technosport
An independent garage used BMW right next to its own trading name on shirts, a van and Twitter. The Court of Appeal, reversing the trial decision, found this wrongly suggested the garage was an authorised BMW dealer. Putting a manufacturer's name beside your own can say more than you mean it to.
Read our summaryFine & Country v Okotoks
A premium estate agency brand stopped a national rival's near-identical rebrand, winning on both passing off and trademark infringement. The rival's attack on the brand's registrations failed. Copying a rival's font, colours and layout can be infringement even if the word itself is a common one.
Summary coming soonUK Gymnastics v British Gymnastics
The court confirmed that UK Gymnastics infringed British Gymnastics' trademarks and committed passing off, but struck out a finding and parts of the injunction that went beyond what had actually been claimed. Winning is one thing; the court order only covers what you asked for.
Read our summaryThe BMW company names case
An individual who registered several companies using the BMW name failed to overturn a default judgment (a judgment given because the defendant didn't respond) for trademark infringement and passing off, because they could not show they hadn't been properly served. Ignoring a claim doesn't make it go away; it usually makes it worse.
Summary coming soonWho owns the name when businesses work together?
Quantum Advisory v Quantum Actuarial
An LLP had been trusted to run part of a pension advisory business on behalf of its principal. The court held it owed fiduciary duties (a legal duty to act in the principal's interests) and had to hand over trademarks it had secretly registered in its own name, including one that wasn't even similar to the principal's mark. If another business runs part of your operation under your name, get ownership of the trademark in writing.
Read our summaryThe Rubettes case
After a pop group split into two rival bands, the court upheld a finding that their settlement agreement implicitly required each side to take reasonable steps to stop promoters, and their own websites, presenting them as the original band. A settlement that limits a name can carry duties beyond the words on the page.
Summary coming soonWhat I’d take from these company name disputes
- 1What I'd take from this is that a company name and a trademark are two different things. Companies House approval tells you nothing about whether you can trade under the name.
- 2The own name defence is real, but it rests on honest use. Carry on after a complaint letter, or lean on a famous name, and it often falls away.
- 3Being first matters. A small local business with genuine goodwill can undo a national registration.
- 4Registrations that aren't used, or are used by the wrong business, can be lost or handed over.
- 5If you share a name with another business, or let someone run part of your business under it, write down who owns what.
If someone is trading under a name too close to yours, a cease and desist letter is usually the first step, and our brand protection service handles the dispute from there. If you're choosing a company or trading name, a trademark search shows what's already registered, a trademark clearance audit looks at the wider risks, and you can then register a trademark so the name is yours, not just your company's.
Book a free call, email enquiries@thetrademarkhelpline.com or ring 0161 833 5400.
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This page is for information purposes only and does not constitute trademark advice or guidance. Case summaries are drawn from published UK judgments; summaries drafted with AI assistance and checked by The Trademark Helpline (how we write these). Last reviewed 30 October 2026.
