- Business names are dealt with under chapter 4 of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
- Section 79(1) of the CPA states that a person must not carry on business, advertise, promote or supply any goods or services under any name unless:
a. The person’s full name as recorded in his/her identity document or any other recognised identification document in the case of an individual; and
b. The business name must be registered in accordance with section 80 of the CPA.
- The CPA does not make mention of a partnership, but one would presume that the provisions of section 79(1)(a)(i) namely that relating to an individual, as described above would apply, namely it must be conducted in the person’s full name as reflected in his or her identity document. For example, if the partners’ names are John Paul Williams and Joseph Patrick Khumalo and they wish to conduct business under the name and style of “XYZ Stationers”, then the partnership will be conducted as follows: “John Paul Williams and Joseph Patrick Khumalo trading as XYZ Stationers” but provided that their identity documents reflect their names as referred to here;
- Kindly note further that the provisions relating to trading names and the registration thereof will only come into effect on 1 October 2011. If, however, the partnership has been trading for at least 1 year prior to 1 October 2011, then no registration in accordance with section 80 of the CPA is required. If, however, the partnership has not been trading for at least 1 year prior to 1 October 2011, then that trading name needs to be registered in accordance with section 80 of the CPA.