Company name purchases

A company name is the sign under which a merchant company is incorporated which enables it
to be distinguished from other merchant companies. It is the name under which a company does
business. If you're naming a company, you should consider the trademark implications of your
choice. A trade name can be the legal name of the corporate entity, and it can also be the
fictitious or assumed name the company uses to do business in a state. Both the actual company
name and the fictitious business name are trade names. Neither name, by itself, is a trade or
service mark.

There are various kinds of companies according to Companies Act, 2013 from Government
Companies, Private Companies, Producer Companies etc. Although the name of a company, in
and of itself, is not a trademark, the name of a company may become a trademark if the company
decides to use the same name in association with the sale of a good or service. If the company
decides to call a good or service by the same name, then trademark rights can overlap with trade
name rights. For example, the Coca Cola Corporation has the same name as its major product,
and therefore both the company name and product name enjoy trademark protection.

While registering a company name, the Registrar of Companies (RoC) across India expect
applicant to follow a few naming guidelines-

1. Unique Component: In Flipkart Internet Private Limited, Flipkart is the unique component.
Now, once taken, the name Flipkart will not be given to any other business within the suffix
Internet or even related categories (E-commerce and Online Solutions, for example). But there is
some subjectivity, too. Some RoCs may not even approve the name Flipkart Chemicals Private
Limited, reasoning that the e-commerce brand Flipkart is too well-known. Similar sounding
names would also be rejected (so no Flipcart).

2. Blacklist: Abbreviations, adjectives and generic words are rejected. So BBC or XYZ would
be rejected, as would Good Quality Biscuits. The words bank, exchange and stock exchange,
unless approved by RBI or SEBI, would also be rejected.
3. No Common Trademark: There should not be a registered trademark by the same name on
the HYPERLINK "http://ipindia.nic.in/" \t "_blank" IP India website. If there is one, the name
can only be approved if you are able to get a No-Objection Certificate from its owner authorising
you to use it.

4. Descriptive Component: In Biocon Research Private Limited, the word 'Research' describes
the business the company is into. You cannot have 'Research' in your name if you're, say, in the
logistics or restaurant business.

A company name is one of the most valuable things your business has. If you want to protect a
company name at the same time as incorporating a dormant company, it makes sense to also
purchase the domain name to go with it. The last thing you want is to get to the point when you
want to start trading – and find that the URL you wanted is taken, or worse still, being used by a
competitor. These days a company and its website are virtually synonymous, so get both sorted
at the same time.