PM: wrath lawyeristas

IP question.

I have a very small LtdCo through which I supply my services in one sector. I've recently built up a business in an entirely different and unrelated sector and need (and have) a name for that other business (if my LtdCo is called AB Ltd, this new thing can trade as BA, basically, where A and B are single syllables).

Should I:

a) register BA as a trademark (£170)
b) register BA as its own company, owned by AB, and leave it non-trading (all the money comes through my little LtdCo) to protect the name
c) not bother too much and just use both names

The sums of money involved in my LtdCo are not substantial and I'm reluctant to spend any more than I need to. But BA is about to come to attention in the sector it operates in and I don't know if I should act to protect or at least establish ownership of the name or something. There is no registered trademark for either AB or BA and there is AB Ltd, a (very small) company which I own.

Posted By: Old Man, Jul 9, 14:05:13