Decision

Decision on Info Intel Services Limited

Updated 10 September 2018

Order under the Companies Act 2006

In the matter of application No. 1455

For a change of company name of registration No. 10640538.

Decision

On 11 October 2017, I ordered company number 10640538, INFO INTEL LTD, to change the company name to a non-offending name, failing which I indicated I would determine a new company name under section 73(4) of the Act and give notice of that change under section 73(5) of the Act (BL-O-492/17 refers). I allowed one month for the name to be changed or an appeal against the order to change the name to be lodged; I made no order as to costs. As the name was not changed in the period allowed and no appeal lodged, on 22 November 2017, a Notice of change of company name was issued and, under the provisions of section 73(6) of the Act, the name was changed to 10640538 LTD.

On 19 February 2018, 10640538 LTD changed its name to INFO INTEL SERVICES LIMITED.

On 3 May 2018, the Tribunal received a letter from Intel Corporation’s professional advisors, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP (“CMS”). The operative part of that letter read:

“…In breach of the Tribunal’s order, the company has adopted another “Intel” based name by changing its name to Info Intel Services Limited. It is plainly the “Intel” element of the company’s prior name that Intel objected to. Therefore, the name Info Intel Services Limited falls within the definition of an “offending name”.

We should be grateful if you would enforce the Tribunal decision order against the company.”

In an official letter dated 29 May 2018, the Tribunal wrote to the parties. The letter to 10640538 LTD was sent by Royal Mail special delivery. The letter sent to the company and copied to CMS read:

“Dear Mr Olowoyeye,

Please find enclosed a copy of a letter dated 3 May 2018 from CMS in respect of the above company incorporated on 27 February 2017 of which you are the sole director. In the Order issued on 11 October 2017 in relation to INFO INTEL LTD, the Adjudicator ordered that the name of the company be changed to a non-offending name, it was stated:

“All respondents, including individual co-respondents, have a legal duty under Section 73(1)(b)(ii) of the Companies Act 2006 not to cause or permit any steps to be taken calculated to result in another company being registered with an offending name; this includes the current company. Non-compliance may result in an action being brought for contempt of court and may result in a custodial sentence.”

On 22 November 2017, a Notice of change of company name was issued, and the name of the company was changed to 10640538 LTD. On 19 February 2018, the name of the company was changed to INFO INTEL SERVICES LIMITED.

It is the Tribunal’s preliminary view that the original Order has been breached and the name INFO INTEL SERVICES LIMITED is an offending name, because it still includes the word INTEL, which is the same as the name relied upon by Intel Corporation in their original application filed on 26 May 2017.

You are allowed 14 days from the date of this letter to comment upon the above, that is, on or before 12 June 2018. Any comments you choose to make should be copied to CMS, who is then allowed a period of 14 days from the date that it receives a copy of any submissions you make to provide submissions of its own. The Adjudicator will review any submissions filed and will indicate to the parties how the Tribunal intends to proceed.

If nothing is received from you in the period allowed, the Adjudicator will issue a further Order directing that the name of the company be changed to a non-offending name, failing which, the Adjudicator will determine a new company name under 73(4) of the Act and will give notice of that change under section 73(5) of the Act.”

The letter sent to 10640538 LTD was returned to the tribunal marked “not called for.”

As the company has not responded to the Tribunal’s letter of 29 May 2018, within either the time allowed or prior to the issuing of this order, the consequences outlined in the final paragraph of that letter come into play and, as a consequence, I make the following order:

(a) INFO INTEL SERVICES LIMITED shall change its name within one month of the date of this order to one that is not an offending name ^{[footnote 1]};

(b) INFO INTEL SERVICES LIMITED shall:

(i) take such steps as are within its power to make, or facilitate the making, of that change;

(ii) not cause or permit any steps to be taken calculated to result in another company being registered with a name that is an offending name.

In accordance with Section 73(3) of the Act, this order may be enforced in the same way as an order of the High Court or, in Scotland, the Court of Session.

In any event, if no such change is made within one month of the date of this order, I will determine a new company name as per Section 73(4) of the Act and will give notice of that change under Section 73(5) of the Act.

All respondents have a legal duty under Section 73(1) (b)(ii) of the Companies Act 2006 not to cause or permit any steps to be taken calculated to result in another company being registered with an offending name; this includes the current company. Non-compliance may result in an action being brought for contempt of court and may result in a custodial sentence.

Any notice of appeal against this decision to order a change of name must be given within one month of the date of this order. Appeal is to the High Court in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and to the Court of Session in Scotland.

The company adjudicator must be advised if an appeal is lodged, so that implementation of the order is suspended.

Dated 24 July 2018.

Christopher Bowen
Company Names Adjudicator

1. An “offending name” means a name that, by reason of its similarity to the name associated with the applicant in which he claims goodwill, would be likely - to be the subject of a direction under section 67 (power of Secretary of State to direct change of name), or to give rise to a further application under section 69. ↩