Choosing your business name

What you need to know

• Business or trading name
• Company name
• Trade mark

Business or trading name

In New Zealand, sole traders and partnerships are free to use any business or trade name they choose, since there is no central register for business names (unless you are forming a company).  However, if you are starting a sole trader or partnership business it makes sense to avoid possible conflict with another business who may claim your name is ‘confusingly similar’ to their trading name.

Step-by-step instructions

Here are some steps you can take:

• Conduct a freeRegister Search on the Companies Office website to ensure that an identical or almost identical company name does not already exist on the register.
• Undertake a free trade mark search on the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) website to check for similar registered trading names and brands.
• Search telephone books and business directories such as www.whitepages.co.nz, www.yellowpages.co.nz and www.ubd.co.nz for possible name clashes.

When you operate as either as a sole trader or a partnership it is possible for someone else to use the same business name. There may be little you could do to prevent this (although the Fair Trading Act does offer some protection).  For example, in many sectors small sole traders in different towns successfully trade using very similar or identical names.

However, once you have successfully registered your trading name or trade mark through the Intellectual Property Office you gain greater legal protection from anyone else using your trading name or mark.

Company name

A business gains a limited amount of protection for their name when they incorporate a company using that name.  When you form a company you can be certain that another company cannot be formed with a name exactly the same as yours.  You have no immediate control over existing or new businesses operating as sole traders or partnerships that choose to use your name.  You can take them to court to force them to stop using your name but that will take time and money.

Reserving a name is the first step towards incorporating a company online.

Instructions on how to reserve a company name.

Trade mark

Once you have registered a trade mark you can be certain that another trade mark with a name and image exactly the same as yours cannot be registered.  Registering your trade mark also enables you to take action against anyone attempting to use an identical or a ‘confusingly similar’ name within the same or a similar industry.

To find out more about trade marks or to register a trade mark visit the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) website.