Domain name, company name and trademark
- Domain name is your website address
- Company name is the legal name of the company
- Trademark is the symbol, name or logo that identifies and protects your brand
By understanding the differences, you can build a strong and legally protected brand.
Domain name
A domain name is the unique address of a website on the internet. It consists of a sequence of letters and/or numbers that ends with a top-level domain, such as .com, .no, or .org.
A domain name is the address you type into your browser to access your website. It allows customers and partners to find your business online.
What protection does a domain name provide?
A domain name does not necessarily give you exclusive rights to a particular name, as many people can register similar names under different top-level domains. It is important to note that domain names can be registered independently of a trademark or company name.
Company name
The company name is the legal name of a company that is registered in the Brønnøysund Register Centre. It identifies the company in public registers, tax documents, contracts and other formal contexts.
What protection does a company name provide?
If your company name has distinctiveness, you have the exclusive right to it. This means that others cannot register company names or trademarks that are so similar they could be confused with yours, whether in the same or in related industries. If the name has little distinctiveness, you can only prevent others from registering or using an identical company name.
Trademark
A trademark is a symbol, name, term, design, or a combination of these, that distinguishes the goods or services of one supplier from those of others. A trademark represents your brand.
Trademarks are used to protect a brand and make it recognizable to consumers. They are used on products, packaging, advertising, and other marketing to distinguish them from competitors.
What protection does a trademark provide?
Trademarks grant the exclusive right to use the registered symbol or name for the specific goods or services specified in the registration. The protection applies in the countries where the trademark is registered, and it can be extended as long as the trademark continues to be used and maintained.
How to check if a name is available
Before you decide on a name, you should check whether it is already in use—as a business name, domain name, or trademark.
You can do this easily through navnesok.no—a shared search service developed by the Brønnøysund Register Centre, Norid, and the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (Patentstyret).
In what order should you register?
Because domain names, company names, and trademarks serve different purposes and offer different types of protection, it’s recommended to register all three to prevent others from misusing your name or logo. It’s often smart to start by registering the domain name, and then proceed with the others.
