A new procedure for objecting to a company's registered name comes into force on 1 October 2008.

Under Section 69 of the Companies Act 2006, a person ("the applicant") may object to a company's registered name on the grounds that:

it is the same as a name associated with the applicant in which he has goodwill; or

it is sufficiently similar to such a name that its use in the United Kingdom would be likely to mislead by suggesting a connection between the company and the applicant.

The defences include:

The name was registered before commencement of the activities on which the applicant relies to show goodwill;

the company is operating under the name, or proposes to do so and has incurred substantial start-up costs in preparation, or was formerly operating under the name and is now dormant; or

the name was adopted in good faith.

There are exceptions to some of the defences where the applicant shows that the main purpose in registering the name was to obtain money from the applicant or prevent him from registering the name.

The objection should be made to a company names adjudicator (currently a Trade Marks Hearing Officer at the UK Intellectual Property Office), using Form CNA 1. There is no time limit.

The new procedure exists in addition to the rarely used one which enables the Secretary of State to direct, within 12 months of a company name's registration, the company to change its name on the grounds that it is the same as or too like another company name on the register.

If you would like more information, please get in touch with your usual Taylor Wessing contact or Timothy Pinto on +44 (0)20 7300 4287 or email t.pinto@taylorwessing.com.