My business name changed by the authorities when trying to register.

[Fidelia]

So I have been trying to register my business with the Corporate Affairs Commission in my country. The business name I gave to them has not been approved. They said the name is not available to be used. I have to change the name.

How would this affect my business given that the name has been part of my brand for years?

 

[Springtime]

You should have registered your brand or company name when you first started your business. It's a pity that you cannot register it now after all these years because they are already known in the market. In such situation, you have to do some advertisement or marketing and let people know the change of name.

 

[eLdavis]

This is one of the side effects of not registering your business name on time. The same thing happened to my sister, she had to change the name completely. It took a while but the customers got used to the new name.

 

[Kross]

Try not to choose a name that is completely different from the popular name. Just use something slightly different and you are good.

 

[Trush Jodie]

I think there is nothing amiss here. You should have done a business name check for the brand name you want to use way before you adopted and popularized it.

 

[Suba]

The authorities may have found a similarity to your business name in their computer database, so they suggest that you change the name, make it unique and not already registered.

 

[Patty]

Most small businesses don't have the funds to register their business name as soon as they start it and they end up losing their business names like this.

 

[Augusta]

I don't see much issues here. you just have to start using the new name. people would sooner than you think identify with the new name.

 

[King Belieal]

You just need to start building a new brand. The earlier the better. You didn't register your business early enough.

 

[Nomad]

In my countries, people add another word to the proposed business name top get approved. For instance, if your name "Moon Shop" was rejected, you can try "New Moon Shop"

 

[Min George]

In my countries, people add another word to the proposed business name top get approved. For instance, if your name "Moon Shop" was rejected, you can try "New Moon Shop"

It would completely change the brand when that happens. It is as good as getting a brand new name completely.

 

[Starmix]

The authorities may have found a similarity to your business name in their computer database, so they suggest that you change the name, make it unique and not already registered.

I agree with you on that, it's also my experience when I applied or register my first plan offline business to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).Those three business names I presented were not accepted. The reason was duplication. So they're the ones who gave my business name.