Home > Company Incorporation > The difference between a Trademark and Company’s Legal name

The difference between a Trademark and Company’s Legal name

Share

When you decide to start your own business, there are many things to consider: the type of company, the partners involved, the company name, marketing, and more. Choosing a name that fits your business and that you like is an essential step.

When opening a company online in Portugal, you have two options for the name:

• Choose a pre-approved name from the List of Companies and Names made available by the Institute of Registry and Notary (Instituto do Registo e do Notariado). This option is free and speeds up the company formation process, avoiding delays in name approval. However, the names available might seem generic or not very relevant to your business – they often appear random – so many people go for a personalised name instead.
• Request a <Certificate of Admissibility>, which confirms that the name you’ve chosen can be used. This certificate is valid for 3 months and costs €75 for standard requests (which can take weeks to be approved) or €150 for urgent requests (issued within 24 hours). While this option allows more customisation, it can significantly delay the company formation process.

How does the Certificate of Admissibility work?

When you apply for a Certificate of Admissibility, you can submit up to three name options for your company. If none of them is approved, the Registry Office allows you to submit three new options at no extra cost.

To increase your chances of approval, it’s important to choose genuinely distinct names. Avoid repeating the same root name with small variations. For example:

✅ Good options:

• "Inovatech Solutions"
• "TechNova Consulting"
• "Futuro Digital, Lda."

❌ Bad options:

• "Parnexus Informática"
• "Parnexus Serviços Informáticos"
• "Parnexus Portugal"

In the second example, all names rely on the approval of "Parnexus". If the first is rejected, the others will likely be rejected too. So, vary your options to increase the chances of at least one being accepted.

If you need to open your company quickly, going with a pre-approved name might be the better solution. Later, you can always register a <trademark> to protect your business identity.

What is Trademark?

A trademark differs from a company’s legal name because it protects the identity of a product or service, making it stand out from competitors and ensuring it’s unique.

Trademark registration is handled by the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial – INPI), granting exclusive use. Many people confuse a trademark with the company name, but a trademark can cover much more. If a company develops an innovative product, the trademark protects not just the name, but also the service, logos, and any distinctive elements that identify it in the market.

Step-by-step guide to registering a trademark:

• Check availability – Before applying, search the INPI website to see if the trademark is already registered.
• Submit your application – You can apply online via the INPI portal, including the holder’s details, logo (if applicable), and protection classes.
• Payment of the fee – The base cost for registering a trademark online is €145.46 for one class of goods and services. If submitted on paper, the cost starts at €291.12. Fees may vary depending on additional services and the number of classes selected.
• Formal review and publication – INPI reviews the application and publishes it to allow for possible objections.
• Decision and approval – If there are no objections, the trademark is granted and protected for 10 years, renewable.

Benefits of a registered trademark:

• Prevents others from producing, selling, or commercially exploiting the protected brand without permission
• Blocks registration of identical or similar trademarks for similar products
• Enables cancellation of identical trademarks previously registered
• Grants exclusive usage rights for 10 years, renewable
• Helps fight counterfeiting and builds consumer trust

The INPI trademark registration is only valid in Portugal. To expand protection internationally, you’ll need to file for international registration via the Madrid System, managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Legal Name of the Company

Company registration, on the other hand, is done through the Institute of Registry and Notary (IRN), via the Commercial Registry Office.

The legal name is what distinguishes your company from other legal entities, while the trademark is the symbol that sets your products or services apart from the competition. So, a company can own several trademarks that protect its different products or services.

The legal name is what appears on invoices, contracts, and all formal business communications. For example, if Mr Manuel wants to quickly open a café and picks a random name, the company might be legally called "Sorrisos Tardios, Lda.", but he can use a different trading name for the café itself, like "Café da Tarde com Manel".

Other legal name options:

The Registry Office allows a company’s legal name to include partners' names, provided certain criteria are met:

• The name must contain at least two full names of one of the partners
• It must match the name as it appears on the ID document
• If it includes surnames of two or more partners, they must be separated by "&" (e.g. "Soares & Silva, Lda.")
• The name will only be approved if there is no other company with the same or very similar name already registered

If you want to ensure your company can use a specific name, both in terms of business registration and trademark protection, it’s essential to do a preliminary check.

You can access the official business registry website through the link, where you can check whether the desired name is already registered or could be confused with an existing one.

On this platform, you can directly consult the databases of the National Registry of Legal Entities (RNPC) and the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) to confirm if the name is available.

If your chosen name has a similarity score below 85‰ (per mille) compared to existing ones, it’s more likely to be accepted. If the similarity is above this threshold, the name may be deemed confusing and rejected.

Conclusion

Company registration and trademark registration are two separate and independent processes. You can have a business protected by a trademark without registering a company, or have a registered company without a trademark. For broader protection, ideally register both.

If you need to register your company quickly, choosing a pre-approved name can be more efficient as it saves time and lets you start operating without delays. Later, you can secure your business identity by registering a trademark.

If you’re taking your first steps in the business world, Rauva is here to support you.

Rauva simplifies the entire process of setting up your company. You can create your company anytime, from anywhere, 100% online. The legal fees are covered by Rauva, excluding the government fees (€220).

At Rauva, we have a team of specialists in several areas:
✓ Expert support in Registration, Legal, and Accounting
✓ All-in-one business management tools (invoicing, expense tracking, business account)

Share