Obchodní firma a její právní úprava v českém právu

Mgr. Lucie Benešovská

Master's thesis

Trade name and its legal regulation in Czech law

Abstract:

Tématem mé diplomové práce je obchodní firma a její úprava v českém právním řádu. Toto téma jsem si vybrala, protože vzhledem k mým podnikatelským aktivitám jde o oblast, která je mi velice blízká. Zároveň se domnívám, že jde o oblast, jíž není věnována dostatečná publicita, což může být také důvodem, proč je pojem obchodní firma většinou chápán jako synonymum pro podnik. Proto také výkladu rozdílu mezi obchodním jménem a obchodní firmou věnuji samostatnou kapitolu. Ve své diplomové práci se věnuji mimo jiné vývoji obchodní firmy, tzn. tomu, co předcházelo naší současné právní úpravě obchodní firmy. Jedná se dle mého názoru o velmi důležitou skutečnost, z níž je třeba vycházet, snažíme-li se pochopit současnou právní úpravu. Kromě tohoto vývoje obchodní firmy diplomová práce pojednává pochopitelně především o institutu obchodní firmy tak, jak je upravena v současném právním řádu. Stejně jako u mnoha dalších, tak i u obchodní firmy nacházíme teoretické zásady a pravidla pro tvorbu nové obchodní firmy, které jsou nerozlučně spjaty s funkcemi, které obchodní firma plní. Těmto zásadám a funkcím, které provázejí nerozlučně obchodní firmu a bez nichž by obchodní firma nemohla plnit svůj účel, je věnováno pár úvodních kapitol, aby byl podtržen jejich významný vliv na existenci obchodní firmy. Dle subjektů lze obchodní firmy rozlišovat na obchodní firmu fyzických osob podnikatelů a na firmu osob právnických. Toto rozdělení s sebou nese určité odlišnosti, které je třeba mít na paměti zejména při tvorbě nové firmy. Proto o rozdílu obchodních firem fyzických osob podnikatelů a právnických osob pojednávám zejména v kapitole tvorba firmy. Firma není neměnná a i ona podléhá změnám spojeným s právními událostmi, příkladem může být smrt fyzické osoby - podnikatele. Pokud jde o zavedenou obchodní firmu, bylo by škoda, kdyby měla stará firma, se kterou si již zákazníci navykli spojovat určitou kvalitu poskytovaných služeb či výrobků, zaniknout. Proto zákon umožňuje pod podmínkou dodržení dalších povinností provozovat podnik pod starou obchodní firmou. Blíže je o podmínkách přechodu, převodu a změny obchodní firmy pojednáno v příslušné kapitole. Obchodní firma by nemohla existovat a plnit své funkce, pokud by jí nebyla poskytována právní ochrana. O systémech této ochrany je pojednáno v kapitole ochrana firmy, ať už jde o ochranu dle ustanovení o firmě, ochranu právem proti nekalé soutěži či o úpravu jinou.

Abstract:

The theme of my graduation theses is a trade name and its legal regulation in the Czech law. In my opinion it is an area where there is not enough sufficient publicity, that can also be a reason why the definition of a trade name is mostly understood as a synonym for an enterprise. The definition of the trade name is to be understood in a sense of §8 Commercial Code as a term under which the businessman is recorded in the Register of Companies. The trade name is an intagible holding and its law belongs between so called the industrial ownership. Generally, the trade name is not as an intagible holding in the current concept of the property right considered as a matter in the legal justification and so it is not even a subject of propety even though this conception has been gradually broken through. The trade name is a holding which rises in the dependance on constituonal of a new subject and its enterprise and it creates a certain interlink between the enterprise and its owner (the businessman recorded in the Register of Companies). The businessman has the right and at the same time the duty to enter into legal acts under his trade name. The corporate law covers the business law of a businessman to run a trade name in a subjective justification, to use it and to dispose of it. The corporate law in a subjective justification is a law of absolute so that it entails to all diferrent persons from a competent person (erga omnes) a liability to keep at the interversion into the subjective law eg.unauthorized use of trade name. The competent businessman is aftewards entailed a trade name liability so-called a liability to run a trade name and to use it within all legal acts and it is in its exact and correct version. This liability is entailed by a Commercial Code in §8 second sentence. The law to a trade name is not lapsable, only the entitlements established in the frame of a relative legal relationship are lapsabled as an example by the conctract or by a tort. Within the corporate law there are claims of several basic function of the trade name. It belongs to a function: a particular it is a function providing that the bearer of the trade name differs from other subjects, a function of the defence, this function ensures the exlusion of all the other subjects from using of the conguent or the interchangeable trade name, a guarantee function it ensures the one and the same trade name will be indicated with justification just one subject, followingly a diversificative function and an advertising function. All the functions of the trade name are very adherent along with. Within the creation of the trade name it is necessary to keep in mind the fundamentals of a formation of the trade name. Mostly the fundamentals are mentioned in Commercial Code. It is about a principle of non-interchangeability it expresses the requirement of non-interchangeability with the trade name of other subject and a principle of thruth (non-delude) -it is a requirement that the trade name would identify the subject exactly, not to bring any untrue information and not to act confusingly to other subjects. Besides the mentioned fundamentals explicitly in Commercial Code it is possible to find other line of the trade name fundamentals. These can be: a principle of unification, a principle of adequacy, a principle of law and a principle of publicity. Generally the structure of the trade name is created by two parts from the trade name portfolio (corpus firmae) and from the trade name amendment. The trade name portfolio shows the own indication of the businessman. It is a part of the trade name which is the basic, the essential, the determinant and according to it it is possible to identify the businessman. According to the trade name portfolio the trade names are differed into the extrajudical, the tenure, the fantasive and the mixed trade names. The trade name amendment it contains the data which should help to futher identification of the businessman. It is p

Abstract:

ossible to differ the extrajudical, the tenure, the fantasive amendments or also the optional and the compulsory ones. Within the creation of the trade name it is necessary to take into consideration that it is about the trade name of an individual the businessman or the corporate body. The trade name of an individual businessman can be created by two parts. The first one, the obligatory part according to §9 article 1 the first name and the surename of the individual. The second part of the trade name, the optional part it can be an appendix which differs the person or the kind of the business of the businessman. Concerning the corporate bodies the trade name is created by two parts it is a trade name porfolio where the corporate body is free to make a choice (in contrast to the individual) and the obligatory appendix is indicating the legal formalities of the corporate body. The legal enactman specifies in the obligatory way the acceptable appearance of the appendixes for separate corporative bodies. The well-established trade name has inconsiderable merits. That is why the law enables a tranfer respectively a transition of a trade name. It is about a possibility to carry on the business under the old trade name providing there is mentioned a succession appendix as a part of the trade name. The protection of a trade name is not time-limited. It lasts for the whole subject existing period of time and it expires with its expiry. The trade name is protected by several legal enactments whereas the basic one is the defence offered by Commercial Code. This defence can be divided into two separate systems. The first system is a defence of the trade name according to §12 Commercial Code, the other one is a defence of the trade name according to a regulation on the unfair competition. The first system of the defence of the trade name is involved in §12 Commercial Code. This system of the defence offers the absolute defence (erga omnes). The plenitude of the defance shows itself as the businessman into whose the corporative law was encroached, he can claim the defence againts everybody who perpetrated such a action at law. The defence is used only by that businessman who has started to run the factual trade name. It is possible to sue according to §12 Commercial Code, the claims on the forbearance, elimination on detrimental situation, release of unjust enrichment, disclosure of an appropriete compensation and a claim for in damages. The second defensive system of the trade name is the defence of the trade name in the frame of the claim of unfair competition (adjusted in §53 and the following) there are: eschewal of unfair-competitive action, elimination of the detrimental situation, providing of the appropriate satisfaction, providing of compensatory damages and a release of an unjust enrichment. The other form of a legal defence can be a suggestion of an order of the law precaution (§74 and the following). The expiry of the trade name comes to by the expiry of the businessman or a trade name modification.

Keywords

obchodní firma, obchodní právo, obchodní jméno

Language used: Czech

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 7. 4. 2006

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 31. 5. 2006
• Supervisor: JUDr. Eva Večerková, Ph.D.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Law

Master programme / field:
Law and Legal Science / Law