#AskPS
Can two companies do business under same name in different countries?
Abhinav Sankar .

What to do if someone has the same company name as another company in a different country!!

So, a friend of mine who stays in India incorporated a company with a NAME that he thought was original when he first came up with it.

However, one day he was surfing through Facebook just to see if such a name is already in use or not!

Surprisingly it appeared that a company in the Philippines and the US already uses the name and is in the same industry. Luckily they seem to be quite small businesses.

Is he still allowed to use the name?

If yes what are the ways to capture that name so that nobody in the future uses it?

Originally Posted Here
11 Comments

Shivam Malhotra

Yes because the name has been approved in India.Until and unless he isn't going to sell in US or Philippines,he has nothing to worry but in those countries he won't be able to use this name.

Not a legal expert but this is what I've been advised in the past.

Abhinav Sankar

right, will let him know

Thanks for your inpits

BTW do you know how to ensure that the name stays with him? No other person uses! Can you give some insights?

Jay Puranik

Abhinav Sankar Should buy all domains with that name. Apply for a trademark on your unique business name. Then again, it won't be allowed for generic names like "Food Company" or "Fitness Company".

Shivam Malhotra

ensuring that your brand name & assets aren't copied is something a good IPR lawyer would be able to help you with (but they usually dont come cheap).

Aakash Dongardive

A quick addition..
What if similar name is registered in India but the company works in different domain/vertical.
Can we go ahead and use the name.

Abhinav Sankar

Yeah indeed a good question!

Shivam Malhotra

Aakash Dongardive if they have trademarked it already then no.Even if they haven't then I guess there still could still be some issues in your trademark approval (since they can appeal and say they are using it prior than you).

Pvt Ltd company ka namehai agar toh wo toh approve hoga hi nahi,agar ROC approves it then cool.

We incorporated a company in May and Pune mai ek agency was using that name but as a proprietorship,we got approval from ROC and have nothing to worry about.

CA Gaurav Sukhija

as for a fact we can help him as one stop shop
Wherein we can get his TM registered and call also get him Company registration with that name
There is no harm in starting a company in India with an abroad name until they dont come to INDIA
Coz they can say that they had business globally and now they want to register in INDIA
There can be a legal battle but his chances of winning are quiet high
Dont worry

Abhinav Sankar

Great! I will discuss this with my friend! Thank you!🙂

Keyur Savaliya

Abhinav Sankartell your friend to built web identity fast.get a domain name for long term..Built a small site..Get all social media link with names.

Surender T Natarajan

Legally, there should not be any issue with companies of the same name in different countries. But have seen issues with Facebook pages being blocked by Facebook. The US company complained about the name being used and it is kind of confusing their customers and all !!!

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