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Here's what you can't call your business

Wednesday, 27 February 2019

Happy To Sit On Your Face sunglasses are described as
Happy To Sit On Your Face sunglasses are described as 'face furniture for the bold'.

It's pretty easy to set up a new company in this country – but that doesn't mean you can call it whatever you like.

Just ask Christchurch woman Leigh Pickering, from Happy To Sit On Your Face.

The sunglass company name was turned down by the Companies Office when she tried to register it, because it was deemed offensive.

'I was like they don't even know what the business is about, how can they know it's offensive?'

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Referring to something as
Referring to something as 'royal' raises red flags.

She said her glasses had already been labelled and branding was in the market, so she was worried about what to do next.

'But then a friend's son said 'why don't you go back with sunglasses' and they accepted Happy to Sit On Your Face Sunglasses. I thought 'it's PC gone mad'.'

She said the business name was intended to be a bit cheeky but mostly related to the fact that well-fitting glasses would sit comfortably on the wearer's face.

She said the public response to the brand was usually positive, although there had been some raised eyebrows when she set up a stall at a festival in Geraldine. 'I've had a wee bit of backlash but I say you're not my kind of customer if you can't see the funny side.'

A spokeswoman for the Companies Office said it would not allow names that were offensive due to being obscene, contrary to public policy or likely to cause offence to any particular religious group or section of the community.

Trying to use the word
Trying to use the word 'police' in your business name won't go down well.

'The registrar is not required to consider the nature of the business or how the company name will be used when reviewing name reservation applications.'

She said people could ask for their applications to be reconsidered.

'With the addition of the word 'sunglasses' in this name, it was considered to not be offensive and was reserved.'

But the spokeswoman said Pickering had not gone ahead with creating a company under that name and the reservation had expired.

'We would note that the reservation of a company name is not a prerequisite for a business to be able to trade under that name or use it as a brand. Ms Pickering has shown this by establishing her business under the name Happy To Sit On Your Face – she has a website, Facebook page and Instagram account for her business under this name. Incorporated companies may also decide to trade under a name that is different from the company name.'

The Companies Office rejected more than 5000 company names in the 2018 financial year.

Most were turned down because they were identical or almost identical to one already registered. Some were rejected because they were offensive or used words that could not be included in a business name.

Among those turned down were: