Is it considered trademark infringement if someone registers a company name similar to mine?

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Written by Igor Demcak

Founder & Trademark Attorney

Company registration alone is not trademark infringement. Trademark rights are infringed through commercial use of a confusingly similar sign in connection with the same or related goods or services, not through the mere act of incorporating a company under a similar name.

If the company begins trading under that name in a market where you hold a registered trademark, and in a class that overlaps with yours, then infringement occurs. At that point you have grounds to act. Monitoring new company registrations in your key markets through business register monitoring can alert you to the risk early, before the company has established commercial activity under the similar name.

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