Using the name of your skill in your Ltd Co name?

[Ignis Fatuus]

CUK front page:

Contractor Plan Bs 'piggy-back' on IT giants


"Small IT start-ups are amongst the worst offenders of name infringement because the IT industry is awash with contractors who develop expert knowledge of a company’s products," the firm (Sweet & Maxwell) said.

Examples include the 15 claims launched against IT start-ups that used the word ‘Intel’ in their name, and six claims for unlicensed use of ‘Java’ – the language created by Sun Microsystems.

So does that mean that if I am a Java programming expert, and I set up a Ltd Co, I can't call it "Java Programming Expertise Ltd"? That would seem a bit harsh: I'm not pretending that I am the owner of Java, just that I am an expert in programming in it and offer such services. How else are you supposed to say that?

I mean, if there is nothing wrong with doing something, there should be nothing wrong with saying that you do it.

[Wanderer]

I mean, if there is nothing wrong with doing something, there should be nothing wrong with saying that you do it.

No there isn't, but Java is a registered trade mark of Sun Microsystems. You need to read about and understand trade marks. You couldn't claim to be a "Microsoft programmer" or a "Google programmer" could you?

If a company doesn't defend it's trade mark then it can become a generic term for some product (like Kleenex, Band-Aid and Hoover are in danger of becoming) and they can lose it so they are forced to protect it. They don't generally take legal action against the infringer, they just send sternly worded letters demanding people stop using it in an inappropriate way and as long as you comply you are ok, no harm done...

[Ignis Fatuus]

No there isn't, but Java is a registered trade mark of Sun Microsystems. You need to read about and understand trade marks. You couldn't claim to be a "Microsoft programmer" or a "Google programmer" could you?

If a company doesn't defend it's trade mark then it can become a generic term for some product (like Kleenex, Band-Aid and Hoover are in danger of becoming) and they can lose it so they are forced to protect it. They don't generally take legal action against the infringer, they just send sternly worded letters demanding people stop using it in an inappropriate way and as long as you comply you are ok, no harm done...

Thanks, but my question was in effect, does the mere use of the name of your main skill, in a correctly descriptive way, constitute infringement? That article doesn't say what constitutes infringement of a trademark holder's rights. For example, did I infringe Sun's rights in my OP (and here) where I used the word Java? Surely it is, as the CUK article puts it, "piggybacking" on the name of the large company or product that is wrong; stealing some of their glory, so to speak? But IMHO if you actually are offering Java skills then you are not piggybacking on Sun's product, you are working with it, and as long as you are not actually pretending to be associated with Sun, there is nothing wrong with that, you are offering your skills, not pretending to offer theirs.

Sun owns the name "Java", but I don't need their permission to program in Java.
I don't need their permission to put Java on my CV (do I?).
Do I need their permission to put it on my Ltd Co's brochure?
Do I need their permission to put it in the name of my Ltd Co?

[DS23]

sun owns java and oracle owns sun... oracle are fairly clear (and fair) when it comes to their copyright and logos. see Third Party Usage Guidelines for Oracle Trademarks

they won't let you use the word java in your company name but they will allow you to have a tag line under it if you wish. so something like:

igi solutions ltd
"the expert in java code"

[northernladuk]

Maybe this is defeating the point of the discussion but....

Why would you do this? If you put Java in to your title you are constricting yourself to just that and if you ever manage to re-train or branch out you are actually gonna do more harm than good. You also have the issue Java won't be around for ever so setting a timeline on your company.. and to be honest when people do this it can often sound cheesy. I don't think doing this makes much difference for the good when it actually opens more opportunities for going wrong.

Would it not be better just to be a bit more creative and avoid this issue completely?

[Ignis Fatuus]

Maybe this is defeating the point of the discussion but....

Why would you do this? If you put Java in to your title you are constricting yourself to just that and if you ever manage to re-train or branch out you are actually gonna do more harm than good. You also have the issue Java won't be around for ever so setting a timeline on your company.. and to be honest when people do this it can often sound cheesy. I don't think doing this makes much difference for the good when it actually opens more opportunities for going wrong.

Would it not be better just to be a bit more creative and avoid this issue completely?

Yes, you're right of course. Personally I have a Ltd Co name that attempts to imply anything up to walking on water, not just one skill. But I wondered...

DS23, thanks. That's the answer to the question.