Where to start head is a mess :(

carrot-cake_2

I posted a thread regarding someone nicking my logo design and I'm in the process of setting up a completely new company selling different products than I used to sell however this time I am wanting to do it properly.

I'm really worried about people stealing my ideas again so my question is how do I get a logo professionally made digitally?

And how do I then have this logo protected?

Where do I buy a domain name from?

Who do I register my business name with and ensure no one else trades under a similar style as mine doing the same thing?

I have had a look on the national business register but I don't understand how it all works and whether I should be going through them?

Thanks

InsideInsurance

Are you intending to start trading immediately or going to leave things dormant?

You get a professional logo by going to a professional logo designer. The contract with said designer should transfer copyright to you upon completion/ payment. The logo is therefore yours and automatically protected under copyright. If you want further protection then you can trademark it too but this probably will involve employing an IP solicitor and isnt particularly cheap to get and even more expensive to enforce.

Buy domain names from the likes of 123-reg.co.uk - you can host them anywhere and just update the domains name servers in 123-reg. Remember to get at least the .co.uk and .com plus ideally others.

You cannot register a business name. You can trademark your brand or you can create a limited company but that doesnt stop a sole trader using the brand or a different limited company using it as a trading style. If you can enforce against any of these would depend on what the products/ services are of both, if there is overlaps of market, if a consumer is likely to confuse the two companies etc.

Savvy_Sue

carrot-cake wrote: »

I have had a look on the national business register but I don't understand how it all works and whether I should be going through them?

If this is what I think it is, it's probably not worth paying for. What I think it is is the suggestion that if you pay them, you'll have some kind of entry in some kind of directory, and that will be good advertising. It won't ...

The only places you HAVE to register are companies house, if you want to be a ltd company, and HMRC. If you're self-employed, in a partnership or a sole trader, it's only HMRC.

paddyrg

For a logo, start at fiverr and work your way up to a local graphic designer depending on what you want to pay.

Domain, I use easily.co.uk and have since the late 1990's. Never had a problem with them. You might find a few pounds a year cheaper elsewhere, but we're talking fairly marginal differences.

Company registration... Either form a limited company and pay the annual accounting costs but potentially benefit from a marginal NI reduction, or be self employed. There are other advantages to going the Ltd route, namely financial isolation from the businesses finances-handy if someone sues for instance, and it frankly looks better to some people. It doesn't mean that people can't try to copy your name but you can point out that you are the only "xyz limited", any other companies are fakes, whatever.

You can protect your IP whether sole trader or limited company, it might be easier for the limited company though. You can also get the .ltd.uk domain which requires proof of ownership, so nobody else will have it. Not that anyone really uses that namespace, mind.

colino

You have received some good advice above, but don't become obsessed with potential thieves or passers-off. Focus on the business and make sure that a combination of PR exposure and marketing points customers in your direction, not just the name itself.

JuniorDesigner

Do you mind me asking where your original logo design was from? Did you make it yourself etc or buy it from somewhere?