Visibility and security: the challenges of the trade name for the auto-entrepreneur

Why choose a trade name?

The creation of a self-employed company guarantees a privileged status for starting a professional activity in a flexible and autonomous way. Simplified approaches, advantageous taxation, the auto-enterprise has something to seduce and you are more and more numerous to launch out in the adventure. Becoming your own boss and creating a professional activity in your own image is very attractive but it is not always optimal to keep your civil name to develop a commercial activity. Registering a business name is a quick and simple solution and increases the chances of success for your business!

The commercial name: a strategic asset

The auto-entrepreneur can choose to keep his business under his personal name or opt for a business name. The business name then becomes the public name of the auto-enterprise's activity, while the legal status of the auto-enterprise remains unchanged. The business name makes it possible to detach the activity from the name of the auto-entrepreneur and offers infinite creative possibilities. More eloquent and attractive, the commercial name is a real added value to the development of a commercial activity because it allows to differentiate oneself. Your commercial name must therefore be designed at the heart of your commercial and advertising strategy and represent your identity and your values. Its presence on business cards and advertising campaigns for products or services allows you to create a global image and a true identity for your business. A choice not to be made lightly! Be careful not to forget to include the operator's own name on all commercial documents such as invoices and quotes. It is also possible to use a domain name, i.e. a website address, which will be identical to the trade name in order to improve the referencing of your activity and allow customers to identify you more easily. In this case, it is preferable to reserve the domain name with the website host to be able to use it freely. Well used, the trade name offers a gain of visibility for the provider. Without forgetting that some auto-entrepreneurs will appreciate the discretion offered by the public use of a name different from their civil name.

Essential legal protection

By default, the auto-entrepreneur creates his business under his own name. An administrative act is therefore necessary for the addition of a business name. Essential first step: check the availability of the business name being considered. It is possible to carry out a search on the site of the National Institute of Intellectual Property (available at the following address : http://bases-marques.inpi.fr). This search must be supplemented by a query of company and domain name databases. It is also advisable to type the trade name in the Google search bar to see if the trade name is already used by a third party in the same or a related field. Be careful not to neglect this step, because if the name is not available, it may be contested by a competitor and you may be prohibited from using it. These searches are identical searches, allowing only for obvious obstacles to the use of the trade name being considered. It should be noted, however, that only a search for similarities allows you to know the exact legal environment of your project, since prior rights that are only similar (visually, phonetically and/or intellectually close) may also be opposed to you. Once these checks have been carried out, self-employed craft and commercial entrepreneurs will only have to indicate the name they have chosen when declaring the start of their activity. Box 10 ("trade name/professional name") is provided for this purpose on the PO CMB declaration form. In the case of self-employed entrepreneurs, on the other hand, a self-employed business is by default attached to the civil name of its creator. Thus, when declaring the self-employed business to the URSSAF, it is mandatory to enter its birth name and first names in the declaration form for the start of activity. Once the company has been declared, it is however possible to add a trade name. To do so, simply send a change of activity form to the URSSAF, indicating the trade name chosen in the "Comments" box. These steps make it possible to declare the chosen trade name, which will only be protected from its first use. Its protection will also be limited to the area of influence of the customers concerned (for example, the manager of a shop in Orléans who only has one trade name will not be able to prevent the opening of a shop in Marseille under the same name, in the same area). To guarantee exclusive use of the name when marketing products and services, the auto-entrepreneur can register it with the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI) as a trademark. Registering a trademark then guarantees (within the limits of its availability) an exclusive right of use for 10 years (indefinitely renewable), throughout the national territory. Each trademark is registered for specific goods and/or services, which belong to one or more of the 45 classes of the Nice Classification. The fees charged by the INPI for a trademark application are 210 € for 1 to 3 classes, and 42 € for each additional class.   This article was written with the kind collaboration of the Auto-Entrepreneur Portal : support service for the creation of auto-enterprises.