Reservation of Name:
To obviate the risk of choosing a name that ultimately turns out to be undesirable, the promoters should enquire from the registrar whether the name they intend to give the company is "too like" that of a company already in the register of companies. After obtaining confirmation that the name is a registerable one they should immediately make a written application for its reservation under s.19(1)(a) of the Act. Any such reservation shall remain in force for a period of thirty days or such longer period, not exceeding sixty days, as the registrar may, for special reasons, allow. No other company shall be entitled to be registered with the reserved name.
These statutory provisions regarding the choice of a company's name are intended to confer on the company legal monopoly of its name. Because it lacks physical attributes which could assist its customers to differentiate it from another company with a similar name, a company can only rely on the legal monopoly of its name as its ultimate protection against what might constitute unfair instances of passing-off. They also avoid a situation in which two or more companies use one name with the resultant problem of identifying the company that is the contracting party in a commercial transaction.