Trademark question

[Parjita]

Business name changed for privacy.

My business is registered as Rose Cards Ltd. I’ve been trading for just over a year. I’ve trademarked ‘Rose’ and ‘Rose Cards’ for design and retail of paper and cards.

Someone called Rose has messaged me saying I stole that name from her and I have to stop using it. She has a Facebook page called Rose Cards where she’s posted about 20 photos of cards she’s drawn. The first photo was posted a couple of years before I started my business. She’s never traded under that name or even traded at all.

Do I have to change my business name? My gut feeling is no, because it’s my registered company name and I hold the trademark to use it for cards.

You own the trademark. If she wants you to stop, she will have to take legal action on the basis that she had an unregistered trademark. If she has never traded under that name, she has no chance of success.

No she hasn’t traded under that name. Her Facebook page does say “contact me for hand drawn card commissions”! But she’s never run a business under that name, or run a business at all (she isn’t listed as a company owner on Companys House). So if she’s been paid for those cards it’s been cash in hand.

You don't need to be listed at Companies House nor have a limited company to run a business.

She could well have been trading as a sole trader or partnership, neither of which have any formal/official business names registry and certainly no grounds for you saying her payments were cash in hand.

There is a "does not follow" there, I'm afraid. If she is selling hand drawn card commissions as Rose Cards, she is trading under that name. The fact she isn't listed at Companies House simply means she hasn't set up a limited company. A sole trader can use any business name they want provided they don't infringe anyone else's trademarks and aren't passing off (i.e. pretending to be someone else who is selling similar goods or services). If she has been trading, it may be that she has an unregistered trademark. It would be wise to consult a lawyer who specialises in intellectual property.