You can apply to the Companies Tribunal for an order directing a company to change a name that is confusingly similar to yours or that infringes your rights. Whether you succeed depends on what you actually hold — a registered trade mark is the strongest position, established prior use is arguable, and a company registration alone is weaker than most owners expect. Act promptly, because delay counts against you.
The first question is not what to do about them. It is what rights you actually have.
Establish your position first
Work this out before you do anything else, because it determines everything that follows.
You hold a registered trade mark
The strongest position by some distance. You have a property right in the mark for the goods and services it covers, and the registration certificate is the evidence.
Your options widen considerably — a Tribunal application over the company name, and separately an infringement claim if they are actually trading under it.
You have used the name in business but never registered a trade mark
You may have common law rights through use — the basis of a passing-off claim.
You have to prove three things: that you built a reputation in the name, that their use misrepresents a connection with you, and that you have suffered or will suffer damage.
Which means evidence. Dated marketing material, invoices, packaging, press coverage, social media, turnover figures. Start gathering it now — it is far harder to assemble two years later.
You only have a company registration
Weaker than most owners assume. A company registration establishes your entity and your name on the register. Where the new name is genuinely confusingly similar to your registered company name, that is a legitimate basis for objection — but it is a narrower argument than a trade mark, and it does not reach a sole proprietor trading under the name with no company at all.
See company name vs trade mark.
What the Companies Tribunal can do
The Tribunal adjudicates company name disputes, among other things. It is considerably cheaper and faster than the High Court for what it covers.
You apply for an order that the company change its name, on the basis that it does not satisfy the Act's requirements — typically that it is confusingly similar to a name or mark in which you have rights.
The Tribunal can direct the company to change its name within a stated period, and can refer the matter onward where the company does not comply.
Timing matters. Delay weakens your position — it suggests the similarity did not trouble you, and the other company builds its own goodwill in the meantime. The moment you become aware is the moment to act.
Take advice on the application. It is a formal process with requirements, and a poorly framed application wastes the opportunity.
Before the formal route: the letter
Most of these end without a hearing.
A clear letter setting out your rights, the confusion, and what you want — usually a name change within a reasonable period — resolves a large share of cases. Many company names that clash were registered by someone who genuinely did not know you existed and does not want a fight.
Send it properly. Set out what right you hold, what the conflict is, what you want, and by when. Keep it factual. A letter that overstates rights you do not have is worse than no letter, because the recipient's attorney will notice.
Have an attorney draft or review it where the amounts involved justify it. The tone and framing carry real weight in whether this settles.
Six things to do this week
1. Pull the CIPC record for the other company. When were they registered? Who are the directors? What is their status? Are they actually trading, or is it a dormant registration? See what is a CIPC disclosure certificate.
2. Search the trade mark register. Do you hold a mark? Do they? If they have applied for a trade mark on the name, this is now urgent — the publication and opposition window is the moment to act, and it does not stay open.
3. Gather your evidence of use, dated: first invoice, marketing spend, packaging, website archive, social accounts, press.
4. Assess actual confusion. Are you in the same industry, the same region, the same customers? Have customers already confused you? Documented instances of actual confusion are powerful evidence — keep the emails.
5. Get advice on your prospects before spending on a formal application.
6. File your own trade mark, if you have not. Whatever happens with this dispute, the gap that allowed it is still open. Priority runs from the filing date.
The uncomfortable possibilities
They may have got there first. If they registered the company earlier, or hold a trade mark you never applied for, you may be the one who has to change. Establish the facts before you commit to a position you cannot hold.
A similar name is not automatically actionable. Different industries, different regions, and genuinely descriptive names can coexist. Two businesses called "Cape Plumbing" in different provinces may simply both exist.
The commercial calculation may not favour a fight. Where they are small, distant and in a different line of work, the cost of a dispute can exceed the harm. Sometimes the right answer is to register your trade mark, keep evidence, and move on — while remaining able to act if they encroach later.
Preventing the next one
Register the trade mark. It is the only mechanism that gives you a clean, enforceable answer to this situation. See how to register a trade mark in South Africa.
Watch the register. Nobody monitors it for you. A periodic search for names close to yours, in your classes, catches problems while they are still cheap to fix.
Keep your own record clean. A company in deregistration process, with arrear returns and a stale address, is in a poor position to assert rights against anybody. See how to check if your company is CIPC compliant.
Frequently asked questions
Can I object to a company registered with a name similar to mine? Yes. You can apply to the Companies Tribunal for an order directing the company to change its name where it is confusingly similar to a name or mark in which you hold rights. Your prospects depend on whether you hold a registered trade mark, established prior use, or only a company registration.
What is the Companies Tribunal and can it help with a name dispute? A body that adjudicates company name disputes among other matters, considerably cheaper and faster than the High Court. It can direct a company to change its name within a stated period.
How quickly do I need to act? Promptly. Delay weakens your position — it suggests the similarity did not trouble you, and the other company builds its own goodwill in the meantime.
What if I never registered a trade mark? You may still have common law rights through use, the basis of a passing-off claim, but you must prove reputation, misrepresentation and damage. Start gathering dated evidence of use immediately, and file a trade mark regardless of how this dispute resolves.
Can someone trade under a name similar to my registered company? A company registration does not stop a sole proprietor or unregistered business trading under a similar name. Only a registered trade mark, or established common law rights, gives you a route to stop them.
Should I send a letter before applying to the Tribunal? Usually. Most of these resolve without a hearing, and many clashes were registered by someone who did not know you existed. Set out your right, the conflict and what you want — factually, and without overstating rights you do not hold.
What if they registered first? Then you may be the party who has to change. Establish the facts — registration dates, trade mark filings, evidence of use on both sides — before committing to a position.
Find out what you hold, then act
The strength of your position was decided before this happened — by whether you registered a trade mark. Everything else is working with what you have.
Smartbook checks the CIPC and trade mark position on both companies, and files your trade mark so the gap that allowed this does not stay open.
Last reviewed: 31 July 2026. Written by the Smartbook team — SAIPA and SAICA accredited, SARS registered tax practitioners. Company name disputes, Companies Tribunal applications, passing off and trade mark infringement are legal matters — take advice from an attorney before sending a demand or filing an application. General guidance, not legal advice.
Primary sources: CIPC · Companies Tribunal · Companies Act 71 of 2008 · Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993