A company name is not registered for some certain time. A registration is effective as long as the company to which the name belongs is registered in the trade register.
The protection of a established name ceases when the name is no longer considered established. There is no automatic system for controlling if a name is established or not, but in a situation regarding a possible infringement it might be ruled that a name is no longer established and therefore not protected.
The use of both a registered and an established company name may be prohibited, if it is considered to be against good practice, to endanger law and order or is misleading for the public.
A company name may be repealed in four situations:
1. It has been registered illegally,
2. The company name has become illegal after the registration,
3. The holder of the company name is no longer a merchant
4. The company name has not been used for five years and the holder shows no acceptable reason for this
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide on the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
ARTICLE
10 December 1996