Albania and Kosovo company search: QKB and ARBK businesses

Want to find a business by its NIPT, check whether a name is already in use or see whether someone has opened a company with your brand's name? With the Albania and Kosovo company search on trademark.al you search at once the businesses registered in Albania and Kosovo – and, in the same search, the marks of both countries. This matters, because a company name and a trademark are not the same thing.

Trademarks in the DPPI register (Albania): 63.899
Trademarks in the KIPA register (Kosovo): 45.262
Companies in the QKB register (Albania): 366.371
Businesses in the ARBK register (Kosovo): 274.947

What QKB and ARBK are

QKB (National Business Centre) in Albania and ARBK (Business Registration Agency) in Kosovo are the business registers. They register the entity carrying on the activity: the company name, the NIPT or NUI, the activity, the address and the status. The trademark register, by contrast, is kept by the General Directorate of Industrial Property (DPPI) in Albania and by the Kosovo Industrial Property Agency (KIPA), and it protects a sign for specific goods and services.

How to search for a company

Type the name or the NIPT/NUI under Search.
Open the QKB tab for Albania or the ARBK tab for Kosovo; each tab shows the number of results.
Filter by NIPT or NUI, owner or administrator, county or municipality, legal form, status or year.
Open the page of the company you are interested in.

As a visitor you have 5 different searches per session; with an account you search without limits and export the results to CSV, PDF or Word, up to 1,000 rows. In your dashboard, Magic Search lets you choose the country, then the office – QKB or ARBK – and the field: the name, the owner, the NIPT/NUI or the activity.

What a company page shows

A company's public page shows the public details of the business register and an intellectual-property tab. Contact details – e-mail, phone – are never shown. You can also browse companies by place: Albanian businesses by county and Kosovo businesses by municipality.

A company name is not a trademark

“I registered my company with QKB, so the name is mine” – this is one of the most common misunderstandings. The business register has its own rules for company names, but they do not give you the rights of a registered trademark. The exclusive right to use a sign for goods and services is obtained only by registration at the trademark office.

Often the trading name is not even the company name: the company may carry the founders' names, while the restaurant or the app has another name. The mark to protect is the name the customer sees. Read more in Company name versus trademark.

When a company resembles your trademark

If someone opens a company with your mark's name: monitoring also compares your marks with new QKB and ARBK companies, by name and trading name, and the alert informs you. There is no opposition against a company before the trademark office; talk to your representative about the routes the law offers.
If your name resembles someone else's mark: using in trade a trading name similar to a mark registered for similar goods or services may amount to infringement, even when your company was registered properly.

Check both registers before you choose a name

The best moment to avoid a conflict is before you register the company and before you order the logo. Search the name among the QKB and ARBK businesses and in the marks of Albania and Kosovo. Then register the company and file the trademark for your goods and services. The name check in the application form also shows you very similar active companies alongside the marks.

How accurate the data is

The data comes from the public business registers and is updated regularly, but it may be delayed or contain errors; the official source remains the register concerned. Harvesting data in bulk with robots or scripts is not allowed. If some information about you is wrong, write to us and we will correct or hide it as appropriate; an official change is requested from the register concerned.

Frequently asked questions

Can I search for a company by NIPT or NUI?

Yes. Type the number in the search or filter QKB businesses by NIPT and ARBK businesses by NUI. In Magic Search, a number is found even when you type only part of it.

My business is registered with QKB. Do I also need a trademark?

Yes – they are two different registrations. Registering with QKB (in Kosovo, with ARBK) creates the business and its name. A trademark is obtained by registration at DPPI or KIPA, for the goods and services of the classes you choose, and gives you the exclusive right to the sign.

Are companies' contact details shown?

No. A company's page shows the public details of the business register; the e-mail and phone are never shown.

Can I oppose a company with a similar name?

Not before the trademark office: opposition applies only to trademark applications. The monitoring alert informs you, so that you can decide with your representative what to do.

Can I export the results?

Yes, with an account: you export a register's results to CSV, PDF or Word, up to 1,000 rows.

Search for a company or a name

QKB and ARBK businesses and the marks of Albania and Kosovo, in a single search.