Who it is for
Three people who need to know first, and a note for attorneys.
The person choosing the name, the adviser at company formation, and the agency presenting a shortlist. The check is the same. The moment is different.
Early access by invitation.
Founders and small businesses
Before the logo, not after the letter.
Naming a business is personal, and it usually happens just before the money goes out: the logo, the signs, the packaging, the domain. That is when a conflict is most expensive to find.
Check the shortlist first. See which names sound, look or mean the same as marks already on the UK register in your classes, drop the risky ones while that costs nothing, and watch the one you file.
- Before the logo
- Check the shortlist before you pay a designer. A name that sounds the same as a registered mark in your class is better found on the napkin.
- In your classes
- Not sure which class your business falls in? Start from your SIC code. Describing the business in a line is coming soon.
- After you file
- Watch for close new applications while there is still time to act.
Accountants and advisers
A first check inside the formation conversation.
Every company formation involves a name, and registering a company name does not give trade mark protection for the brand. Most clients do not know that.
Notum turns the SIC code already on the formation file into suggested trade mark classes, so a first check can sit inside the conversation without intellectual property expertise in the practice.
The result is a risk screening report (a PDF for the client file). It is an indication of what is on the register, not legal advice, and the result itself recommends professional advice before filing.
A practice workspace for accountants is in build.
SIC 10831 Tea processing
Suggested classes, strongest first
- Class 30Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, flour, bread, pastries, and condiments
Illustrative example. Not a live result. The codes and classes are from Notum’s own mapping.
Naming and brand agencies
Run the finalists before the client meeting.
A naming session produces dozens of candidates. Recommending a name that turns out to be taken is the embarrassment every agency wants to avoid.
Screen the shortlist first. Each name gets its own result, with the reasons written out, so the weak ones are dropped before they reach the client.
Then hand over the evidence: the risk screening report. It is a screening of the register, not legal advice, and the result itself recommends professional advice before filing.
- SWIFTKETTLECollision courseClass 30, tea
- LUMIVACrowdedClass 11, lighting
- BRAMBLEHEARTHOpen waterClass 30, bakery goods
Each name gets its own result, with the reasons written out, a risk screening report.
Trade mark attorneys
A note for trade mark attorneys.
Notum does not do your job. It does the preliminary first pass across UK register records, with the working shown, so close calls reach you with the legwork done.
Every result states the records it read and what it did not, and every next step points to a professional before filing. The judgement is yours.
Tell us what you are naming.
Early access is by invitation. Tell us the name you are weighing up and we will be in touch.