Q: My friend has a well established business, but he has partners he can't see eye to eye with. Now, he's planning on closing down that company, and opening a new one, but he is thinking of retaining the business name, with a few alterations. He says he feels that the 'goodwill' the old company name has generated will help him with the new business he's trying to set up. Is it possible to use the same name for another business after you close the first business down?


A: Yes, your friend could, under certain conditions, retain the old business name.

The first option is: your friend and his old business partners should dissolve their partnership and wind up their business, i.e. settle all their accounts among themselves and to the creditors of the partnership. Then the partners have to agree to your friend's plan to put up a new business using their old business name.

The option above takes a lot of time and paperwork.  But there is an easier alternative: your friend's partners could simply assign all their rights in the partnership to your friend and he could then continue the business as is. However, you mentioned that they don't see eye to eye, which means your friend will have to use all manner of diplomacy to secure his partners' agreement to do this second option.

Reeza Singzon is a lawyer specializing in civil, commercial, and labor law. Before becoming a lawyer, she worked in media for more than 10 years, writing and producing news programs for TV and working as an editor and columnist for a newspaper. For questions or comments, Atty. Reeza may be reached at reeza.singzon@gmail.com, or post your own legal question here.