Business name, brand, domain and trademark: what each check tells you

You have found an available domain and cannot see a business with the same name in the register. Can you start using your chosen name? These two checks are a good start, but each covers only part of the picture. Alongside business names, there are product and service brands and trademarks. You cannot automatically apply the result of one check to the others.

A business name identifies the business operator, a brand helps customers recognise the offering, a domain is an internet address, and a trademark is a legally protected sign with a defined scope of protection. They may use the same word, but they do not have to. Let us look at what you are searching for and what you can conclude from the results.

One business, four different identifiers

Imagine a company selling equipment for growing plants at home. In our illustrative example, it uses these names:

• Company name: Lomenka provoz s.r.o. Its purpose is to identify the company in the register and in business dealings.
• Brand: Lomenka. The name under which customers recognise the offering.
• Domain: lomenka.cz. The website address and part of its email addresses.
• Trademark: For example, the word sign Lomenka. If registered, it protects the sign for specified goods or services and a defined territory.

This is an illustration, not a real business we have checked. We have not checked the availability of the names or domain, and we do not claim that such a trademark exists.

For a small business, all four may look almost identical. Elsewhere, one company operates several brands, or a brand uses a domain with an additional word. Before checking, establish whether you are looking for a company name, a name for an offering, or both.

Business name: who is behind the business

In everyday Czech, “firma” can mean the business as a whole. In the Czech Civil Code, “obchodní firma” has a specific meaning: the name under which an entrepreneur is entered in the Commercial Register. The rules also require that it must not be confusingly similar to another registered business name or be misleading. These rules are set out in Sections 423 and 424 of the Czech Civil Code.

If you are establishing a Czech limited liability company (s.r.o.), you are checking its proposed name. If you are choosing a brand for a new product from an existing company, you are also considering a sign that may differ from the company's registered name.

What a register search tells you

The official Czech public register lets you find companies and their registered names. ARES, provided by the Ministry of Finance, also provides information about business entities. ARES draws on several public administration sources; it is not another name for the Commercial Register itself.

Search not only for the exact name but also for its distinctive part and possible spelling variations. For our illustrative “Lomenka”, it would make sense to search the word stem without “provoz s.r.o.” and review similar results.

Finding no exact match does not mean that a future registration has been approved. A search gives you information for assessing identical or similar names. It also does not tell you whether someone uses a similar brand or owns a relevant trademark.

Brand: how customers recognise you

In this article, a brand means the name and identity through which customers recognise your product or service. Alongside the name, this includes elements such as the logo, visual appearance and communication style.

A brand may be identical to the company name, but it may represent only part of the offering. One operator may have several differently named shops or products. The name on packaging or a website may therefore differ from the company name on the invoice.

For sole traders, the relationship between the brand and the operator's details is covered in how to use a business name as a Czech sole trader.

What an online brand search tells you

Review web results, relevant social networks and, depending on the industry, marketplaces or product directories. Find out who uses the sign, for which offering and in which market.

This may reveal two different things:

• A possible conflict that needs closer assessment.
• A findability problem, such as customers already associating your chosen word with a prominent product or another meaning.

A result on the internet does not by itself determine who holds which rights. Likewise, an absence of results does not prove that nobody uses the sign. This is another part of checking that a company register cannot replace.

Domain: where the website and email lead

A domain is an internet address, such as a name ending in .cz. Checking it tells you whether that particular domain name can be registered, or who holds it according to the available registry information.

You always check a specific address. A taken .cz version does not tell you the status of a version with another extension or an additional word. In practice, however, you need an address customers can type easily without confusing it with someone else's website.

What an available domain does not resolve

An available domain does not grant you the right to use the same word as a business name or brand. Nor does it register a trademark. The separate nature of domain rights is also reflected in the CZ.NIC rules, which cover domain disputes as well as registration.

If a domain is taken, look at how it is actually used. Sometimes it is simply an inconvenient address for your project; sometimes it points to a business or brand you need to investigate. Adding a hyphen or changing the extension does not by itself resolve a possible conflict over the sign.

For help choosing another address or changing your candidate, see what to do when a domain is taken.

Trademark: the sign and its scope of protection

A trademark can protect, for example, a word or logo. It relates to specified goods or services and a territorial scope of protection. A search therefore requires more than finding a similar word and looking only at the owner's name.

Start with the Czech Industrial Property Office's trademark database. The office states that it includes marks applied for through the Czech office, EUIPO and WIPO with designations for the Czech Republic and the EU. Its information on national applications describes other search resources and the importance of precisely defining goods and services.

For a detailed process, from preparing queries to recording results, see how to check a trademark before choosing a name.

For a relevant result, record:

• the wording or appearance of the sign;
• the owner or applicant;
• the status of the application or registration;
• the territory for which protection is relevant;
• the specific goods and services it covers.

Different class numbers alone do not establish that two signs cannot conflict. Have a trademark specialist assess borderline situations. The purpose of an initial search is to gather information, not to issue your own confirmation that a name is legally safe.

How to assess the results together

Record results separately for each check. A simple “the name is free” discards important information about what you actually checked.

• The domain is available: You know that the specific address can be registered according to the current result. You still need to investigate similar businesses, brands in use and trademarks.
• There is no exact match in the register: You did not find an identical entry in that search. You still need to check similar names, other entries and the remaining areas.
• You found a similar trademark: There is a sign that requires attention. You still need to determine its status, scope and relevance to your offering.
• A source check failed: That part remains unchecked. You need to complete the search using another available method.

Keep the date, source and a link to any finding for each check. If you return to the selection in several weeks, you will know what you have searched and what needs checking again.

For our illustrative Lomenka, an available domain would not finish the process. We would still consider similar registered names, use of the brand and relevant trademark findings. Only the combined results would help us decide whether to proceed, request expert assessment or find another name.

When you need to choose another name

You do not have to discard the whole brief. If a problem arises with one candidate, return to the other options and check them using the same process. If you have only one idea, the guide to naming a business from the brief to the final choice can help.

Already have a favourite? Start checking it on OverNazev.cz. For every result, look at the stated source and scope of the check. Automated searching provides information for your decision; it does not replace assessment of a disputed name or guarantee its registration.