If you have a business idea and have chosen a trading name, but are not yet ready to trade, then a Dormant Company is useful for reserving your company name until you are ready to go.
Another scenario may be that running your business as a Limited Company is not the most tax efficient option for you but you still want to protect your trading name.
You could try and register your brand as a Trade Mark but this is expensive, it can take months to complete and there is no guarantee that a future infringer will even check the Intellectual Property Office’s Trade Mark Registry.
Registering a dormant company is a much simpler and cheaper option. Granted it does not provide you with the same level of protection as a Trade Mark would, but the Companies House register of company names is more accessible and far more likely to be checked by a potential interloper to your brand.
You can register your trading name as a limited company, but continue to carry on your trade as a Sole Trader, leaving the limited company dormant.
Beware, though, that just because you are not trading through your limited company, this does not release you from your corporate responsibilities; you will still need to file Dormant Accounts and an Annual Return each year. To ease this burden, Company Formations 247 offer a Dormant Company Maintenance service. We will keep your company filings up to date for as long as the service is active and for as long as the company remains dormant.
A dormant company may not be the only solution for name protection, but it is one method that will get a lot of visibility and act as a deterrent to anyone that shares your name idea.
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