Is a business name the same as a trade mark?

A business name and a trade mark protect different things

A business name and a trade mark are not the same, even though they are often confused in practice. A business name is the name under which an undertaking presents itself to the outside world — the name on the storefront, website or invoice. That name arises through use: as soon as an undertaking presents itself under that name, the business name exists, without any registration being required. A trade mark is something different: it is a name, logo or other sign that is specifically registered for certain products or services, at the BOIP for the Benelux or at the EUIPO for the entire European Union. A trade mark therefore does not arise through use, but through entry in the register.

That distinction has consequences. A business name can offer protection against confusion among other undertakings that use a similar name in the same territory or sector, but that protection is more limited and less clearly defined than with a registered trade mark. A trade mark confers an exclusive right to use that name or logo for the specified products or services, throughout the territory for which it is registered. Anyone who only uses a business name and does not register a trade mark runs the risk that someone else will register the same or a similar name as a trade mark — with all the consequences that entails for the further use of that name.

Where this distinction comes from: the BOIP register

The BOIP manages the trade mark register for the Benelux and explains on its own website what a trade mark registration entails and how it relates to, for example, a business name or a domain name. Anyone wishing to check whether a name has already been registered as a trade mark, or who wishes to understand what a registration does and does not regulate, will find the basis for that in that register and the BOIP's explanations.