Good Business Design

You wouldn't buy physical property without legal searches and surveys. Yet most businesses choose brand names without conducting thorough trademark due diligence. That's not good business design—it's a gamble.

Trademarks are intellectual property assets, like land. Before you build your business around a name, you need to establish three things: Is it available to use? Can it function as a trademark? And if you expand internationally, will it be cost-effective to protect?

The case of Mr Gu, who opened a Chinese takeaway in Barrow-in-Furness in 2009 using the name China Tang, serves as a stark warning. He used that name for 12 years, registered it as his company name, and bought the domain. In his mind, it was his to use. Then he received a cease-and-desist letter from lawyers representing China Tang at the Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair—a high-end restaurant that had trademarked the name years before Mr Gu ever adopted it. The Dorchester's trademark covered restaurants and takeaways. They approached him politely, even offered financial assistance to rebrand. But Mr Gu refused. He believed 12 years of use gave him rights. It didn't.

This is the critical lesson: trademarks are subject to other people's prior rights. Even if Mr Gu had registered his own trademark, it would have been vulnerable to cancellation—no matter how long he'd used the name. His registration would have been built on someone else's stronger claim.

Before you register a trademark, conduct proper due diligence. Check internet results for similar or identical names in your field. Search the UK and EU trademark registers, and any other jurisdictions where you'll operate. Look for similar marks—not just identical ones, as similarity can also create conflicts. Only when you have the all-clear should you proceed to registration.

The US trademark system is more protective than ours. Their examiners actively refuse applications where prior registrations exist. The UK and EU don't—they'll register your mark even if conflicts exist, leaving the burden on you to discover problems later. This makes UK and EU trademark searches even more critical before you apply.

This matters especially if you're planning to expand internationally. Your base application—the trademark registered in your home country—becomes the foundation for all international extensions through the Madrid System. A weakly researched or poorly drafted application at home makes your entire international portfolio vulnerable. That's why professional trademark research and drafting matters before you extend protection globally.

Whether you're just using a name or applying to register it as a trademark, get a legal opinion first. The cost of thorough due diligence upfront is negligible compared to the cost of building a business around a name you don't have rights to, or discovering years later that your trademark is vulnerable to cancellation.

Get in touch with Azrights to conduct thorough trademark research before you build your business around a name. A professionally searched and drafted trademark application protects you at home and provides a solid foundation for international expansion.