Before the establishment documents have been completed and the enterprise has applied for entry in the trade register, a business name must be selected for the enterprise. The business name must identify the business and be distinct from the business names already in the register.

The enterprise may use an auxiliary business name to carry on a part of its activities. The business name may have parallel business names in different languages, which are translations of the business name in Finnish or Swedish. The expressions in different languages must be similar in content. Both the actual business name and the auxiliary business names may have parallel business names.

The business name may be, for example, a combination of the name of the entrepreneur or the area and the business activities. It may also be an invented word, although it is recommended that the spelling rules of the Finnish language are followed.

Registered business names, names pending registration and auxiliary business names can be investigated in the Business Information System available over the Internet. The system also includes information on new businesses whose names have not yet been registered.

The business name must not be such that it can be confused with a protected business name, a secondary symbol or trademark. Anything that may be interpreted as another person's last name or professional name, or the name of a protected literary or artistic work, may not be used as part of the business name without the appropriate consent. Protected national or international appellations or abbreviations of names may not be used as part of the business name without consent; and the business name may not be contrary to good practice or public order, or misleading to the public.

Business names are registered in Finnish or Swedish in the trade register maintained by the National Board of Patents and Registration.

Although the validity of a business name cannot be examined in advance, it is possible to verify that an identical business name has not already been registered or that its registration is not pending. The name will only be investigated and its validity approved after the notification has been filed with the trade register. The exclusive right to use the business name is effective as of the date the notification is filed with the public authority stipulated in section 10 of the Business Information Act, provided the business name is registered in its presented form.

It is useful to make data base searches of business names and trademarks before choosing a name. To get help with the searches. More information on the National Board of Patent and Registration of Finland web site.