Selection of a trade name
Restriction to the selection of a trade name- Although the trade name may be freely selected in principle, the following limitations exist to ensure the safety of transactions and prevent imprudent abuse of trade names.
· A single trade name shall be used in the same business (Article 21(1) of the Commercial Act).
· No person, other than a company, may use any lettering indicating a company in the trade name (Former part of Article 20 of the Commercial Act).
· No person shall, for any unfair purpose, use any trade name likely to induce others to believe that it represents the business of another person (Article 23(1) of the Commercial Act).
Registration of a trade name- The trade name of an individual merchant shall, upon application of the relevant party, be registered in the commercial register of the court having jurisdiction over the location of his/her business office (Article 34 of the Commercial Act), while the trade name of a company shall be registered by the company representative in the company register (Article 23(1) of the Commercial Registration Act).
- If a person who has registered a trade name does not use it for 2 years without good cause, the trade name shall be deemed nullified (Article 26 of the Commercial Act), and in case of failure to register such change or discontinuation of a trade name within 2 weeks, any interested person may request for the cancellation of such registration (Article 27 of the Commercial Act).