Why to register trademark?

Trademark is a name or symbol on a product that shows it was made by a particular company, and that it cannot be used by other companies without permission. A trademark is proprietary and is usually registered to assure its exclusive use by its owner or licensee.

We would like to introduce you with main reasons to register trademark:

• exclusive rights on the trademark gives you freedom to use it within the relevant geographic area or globally;

• it will protect your trademark by avoiding situation when other company use your or closely similar name, brand, logo or design;

• your business looks more likable for potential investors. Trademark registration not only increases security, but also aids clarity in any merger or franchising of the business, positively impacting its perceived value;

• registration of trademark exclude situation when you start business and once you find out that someone is using the similar already trademarked (not by you) representative element of company or design. If you have to change your business name you could confuse your customers. to redo all of your business cards, name information on website, advertising. If you already have registered a domain name, you will have to change that as well;

• you can sale your registered trademark.

Locally, for example, in Latvia registered or trademarks into registration process may also apply for international registration, obtaining protection in certain foreign countries. If you want to prepare documents for international registration, it is necessary to take into account the procedure for processing the International Trademark Application Registration in the Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia and the Common Regulations of the Madrid Agreement and Protocol administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, Geneva).

Of course, it’s your choice to register trademark or not but take into consideration that some companies can consult you regarding national and international registration of trademarks, use of exclusive rights on the trademark, sale of the trademark, its transfer to other persons.

Destiny of shell-company in Latvia from 2018

The ready-made company also called shelf company or shell company, previously formed company, seasoned company or aged company describes limited liability company or partnership are feeling threatened by Latvian Law in 2018.
Each bank started to extensively evaluate the risk profile of its customers and independently decides on the possibility of further cooperation before new regulation comes to action when Latvian Government decided to make amendments in Law. At the beginning of 2018, Latvian banks had 17 107 shell companies as clients (clients of ABLV Bank are not included). According to the Financial and Capital Market Commission, 32% of all shell companies in Latvian banks are registered in the United Kingdom.

Amendments (26.04.2018) to the Law on Prevention of Laundering of Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism came to action on 09.05.2018.

The law provides three characteristics for shell companies. According to the Law, a legal entity is shell formation if it has at least one or more of the three characteristics.

1. There is no legal relationship with the actual economic activity and the activity of the legal entity is small or does not constitute an economic value and the entity of the law does not possess documentary information proving the opposite. 
2. In the country in which the legal entity is registered, the regulatory enactments do not require the preparation and submission of financial statements, including annual financial statements, for their activities to the relevant national supervisory authorities. 
3. the legal person has no place of business in the country in which the legal entity is registered.

Cooperation with shell companies will have to be stopped by about 20,000 Latvian companies, said Daiga Kiopa, Board Member of SIA Lursoft. The most difficult thing is to find out the first indication - whether the company carries out a real economic activity.

The purpose of the ban on shell companies is to ensure that the financial sector in Latvia is stable, sustainable, safe, and also offers services that support the economy rather than create risks.

SIA company name in Latvia

To register a business in Latvia, you need to choose between "IK", "a/s" or "SIA". We will not dig deeper into "IK" and "a/s" in this article. We will learn what is SIA, things you need to know about SIA, and rules for SIA company name.What is "SIA"?"SIA" or "LLC" or a limited liability company is a corporate structure whereby the members of the company cannot be held personally liable for the company's debts or liabilities. Limited liability companies are essentially hybrid entities that combine the characteristics of a corporation and a partnership or sole proprietorship. While the limited liability feature is similar to that of a corporation, the availability of flow-through taxation to the members of an LLC is a feature of partnerships.Rules for SIA company name:

• Includes a reference to the type of the company "sabiedrība ar ierobežotu atbildību" or its abbreviation "SIA", which is included at the beginning or end of the company;

• Use the letters of the Latvian or Latin alphabets;

• You can use numbers;

• Punctuation (points, commas, cols, quotes, etc.) can be used;

• It is allowed to use five symbols - &, @,%, +, =, use of other symbols is not allowed;

• You can not include the names of state or local government institutions (institutions), as well as the word "state" or "local government";

• Can not include the words "Latvijas Republika"(the Republic of Latvia) and their translation into a foreign language;

• You can not include misleading information about the business form, such as the designations "AS", "IK", etc;

• The use of names that contain uncensored words and ambiguous terms (contrary to good morals) is not allowed;

• If the name of an administrative territory or a populated area is enclosed, the company must not coincide with the name of the administrative area or populated area, it is necessary to include in the name additional names, letters or numbers;

• Can not match the already registered trademark or part thereof;

• It is not allowed SIA name to be the same with any of the registered entities of the Register of Enterprises or the name of the registered entity. Punctuation, spacing, and capitalization do not represent a sufficient distinction from another name.

Keep in mind that all documents to be submitted must bear the same name.

Lithuania as Land for Business

Lithuania is one of the Baltic States countries with great possibility to set up business. According to the World Economic Forum, Lithuania is among the top entrepreneurial hotspots in Europe.



Let’s take a look at entrepreneurship in Lithuania.

Veleza
It is a beauty App that helps people discover beauty products matching their needs.

Trafi
It is an App that provides information about car sharing, ride-hailing, bikes and public transport. Traffic is used in Turkey, Lithuania, Latvia, Spain, Estonia, Brazil etc..

Monimoto
Monimoto has developed a smart alarm for motorcycles. It is wireless, used by mobile App and is capable of transmitting GPS coordinates of the motorcycle.

Planner 5D
It is simple to use an online tool to create detailed, beautiful and realistic interior and exterior designs, home plans in 2D and 3D modes like an interior designer pro easily.

CGTrader
One of the largest databases and marketplace of 3D models. The platform allows to get, to upload, sell or share 3D models for computer graphics, 3D printing, and virtual reality.

Vinted
This is a peer-to-peer marketplace to sell, buy, and swap clothes and accessories, purchase or swap from other users. As of 2017, Vinted is available in ten countries.

Every year you can take part in Start-Ups Conference. This year(2018) it will be on 16th and 17th of May when more than 30 international investors and more than 50 startups from Lithuania and the Baltic region will meet, visitors will see keynotes, presentations, discussion panels, 1:1 interviews and other content sessions about the trendiest startup topics and also can take part in pitch battle.


Are you still thinking about setting up business? It is time to choose the right place and develop one of your great ideas. Consulting and service company can help with it.