Trademark Registration vs Company Registration

Entrepreneurs often wonder if a Company Registration or LLP Registration would protect their brand or business name. In this article we address those concerns and discuss the difference between company registration and trademark registration.

Trademark Registration

Trademark Registration is an intellectual property registration under the Trademark Act of India. Trademark registration provides ownership of intellectual property, rights to exclusive use of the registered trademark and legal protection in case of trademark infringement. Words, slogans, business names, numerals and more can be trademark registered. The trademark registration process typically takes more than 12 months. However, once a trademark registration application is filed with the Trademark Registrar, the TM symbol can be placed next to the logo or business name to put others on notice that a trademark application has already been filed.

Company Registration

Company registration or LLP Registration is the creation of a separate legal entity or an artificial judicial person. Company registration under the Companies Act 2013 or LLP registration under the LLP Act 2008 creates a business entity that is capable of entering into business transactions and ownership of property. Two people are usually required for company or LLP registration in India and the registration can be completed within 20 working days. Once, a company is registered, a Certificate of Incorporation will be issued and the same can be used for opening bank account or other obtaining other registrations like TIN Registration, Service Tax Registration, etc.,

Trademark Registration vs Company Registration

Trademark registration is registration of a intellectual property. Company or LLP Registration on the other hand is the creation of a separate legal entity. Only trademark registration can provide legal rights of exclusive use of a mark under the trademark class it was registered under. Company or LLP registration on the other hand creates a legal entity for undertaking business activities. A company can thus register multiple trademarks.
Once a Company or LLP is registered, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs will not allow any other Company or LLP to be registered with a similar name as per the Companies Act, 2013. However, the name of the business can still be used by others if trademark registration is not obtained. For instance, if Acme Technology Private Limited is a registered company, then Acme Technology LLP cannot be registered. However, the word Acme Technology can still be used as a brand name for a software. Registration of a Company or LLP provides protection against registration of another Company or LLP with a similar or identical name only. Hence, it is recommended that the business name also be trademarked.
Companies Act, 2013 mandates that a company name should also not be similar or identical to a registered trademark. Therefore, any Entrepreneur having a unique business name idea can get the brand name registered to prevent the registration of a company or LLP with similar or identical name.
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