Short answer: in many cases, yes you can. Trade mark protection is not absolute for every name in every sector. It is linked to the goods and services for which a trade mark is registered, classified according to the Nice Classification. Two businesses with exactly the same name, but operating in completely different industries and registered for different classes, can in principle coexist without one being able to stop the other.
That sounds simpler than it works out in practice. The assessment of whether two trade marks can coexist looks not only at the class number on the registration certificate, but at the actual description of goods and services and at the question of whether the public could confuse the two. For a well-known trade mark, there is also broader protection, even outside the classes for which it is registered. So there is no hard guarantee that two similarly named businesses will never get in each other's way.
Why classes determine the boundary
The Nice Classification divides all conceivable goods and services into 45 classes, from food to software to legal services. When someone registers a trade mark, they choose the classes that fit their business, and the protection applies in principle to that chosen area. A catering business and a software business that happen to have the same name are usually in classes that have nothing to do with each other, and the risk that the public will confuse them is low. That is why trade mark registers worldwide are full of identical names that coexist side by side, simply because the industries do not overlap.
For those who want to know more about how that class choice works exactly and why that choice carries so much weight, you will find that in the explanation for each situation concerning a trade mark application.
When it can still cause friction
The boundary between industries is in practice less sharp than the class classification suggests. Two sectors that seem separate on paper can in the assessment still be regarded as related: clothing and footwear for example, or food service and food products. It also matters whether a business plans to expand into adjacent services, and whether the public could thereby still see a connection between the two names. In addition, trade marks with a certain reputation have a broader scope of protection, precisely to prevent that reputation from being exploited by a name in a completely different sector. Authorities and courts look at the concrete circumstances, not at a fixed rule that gives the same answer in every case.
What a conflict search does and does not show
A search against the public registers shows which similar or identical names are already registered, in which classes and for which goods and services. This gives a good first impression of how crowded a name is and whether there is already a similarly named trade mark in an industry close to yours. Such a search is an indication, not a guarantee, and if you are in doubt about a borderline case — two sectors that might after all be seen as related — it is wise to put that to a trade mark attorney. In a few questions you will see where you stand, without needing an account for that.
More than just a legal question
Even if two trade marks are legally allowed to coexist, there is a practical point: customers, suppliers and job applicants do not distinguish businesses by class number. An installation company and a consulting firm with the same name may not cause a legal conflict, but they do cause confusion for those searching online for reviews, contact details or a Chamber of Commerce registration number. That consideration should be weighed alongside the legal one when choosing a name, even though it is not a rule from trade mark law itself.
Before you finally choose a name
When considering a new name, it is wise to look not only at your own sector but also at adjacent industries where confusion could arise. How the process from application to registration works in detail, and which sources are consulted, is described on the page on how the preparation works. The costs of a registration and the monitoring that follows can be found under the overview of service fee and subscription.
If you are unsure whether your name is available in your sector and adjacent industries, do the free mark check or read the other topics in the knowledge base — both without needing an account.