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Nautomation Prime Foundation — Legal Status & Governance

Policy Review Status

  • Policy version: 1.3
  • Policy owner: Christopher Davies (Founder, Nautomation Prime)
  • Last reviewed: 21 September 2026
  • Next scheduled review: March 2027
  • Current status: Pre-launch — Nautomation Prime is not yet trading. The Foundation is unregistered; registration as a charity or CIC is a stated future intention, not a current fact. Use of the word "Foundation" in the current sole trader business name has been confirmed with Companies House as not requiring approval (see section 4).

1. What the Nautomation Prime Foundation is today

The "Nautomation Prime Foundation" is a name used for a section of this website. It is not a registered charity, not a registered Community Interest Company (CIC), and not a separate legal entity of any kind. It is operated directly by:

Christopher Davies 9 The Sleeve, Leek, ST13 8HR, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

Nautomation Prime is not yet trading. This site is being built ahead of launch. The free educational content published here is available to read now, but no commercial services are currently being supplied, no engagements are being taken on, and the charity-services offer described on the Charity Services page is not yet open — it sets out the intended terms so they can be read and challenged before it opens, not an offer capable of acceptance today.

Once trading begins, every commitment, free tutorial, and charity engagement made "by the Foundation" will legally be a commitment made by Christopher Davies personally as a sole trader. There is no independent trustee board, no separate charitable fund, and no legal separation between "Nautomation Prime" and "Nautomation Prime Foundation".

2. Why we use the word "Foundation" now, and what it does not mean

"Foundation" is used here in its descriptive sense — a foundational body of free learning content and community support — and to signal genuine future intent to formalise this work as a registered charity or CIC. It is not used to claim, and should not be read as claiming, that:

  • this initiative is a registered charity within the meaning of the Charities Act 2011;
  • donations made to it receive Gift Aid or any other charitable tax treatment;
  • it is regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR, or the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland; or
  • it is incorporated at Companies House as a CIC or any other company type.

Presenting an organisation as a registered charity when it is not one is a serious matter. Depending on the circumstances it can amount to misrepresentation or fraud, and it is capable of being a misleading commercial practice under UK consumer protection law. The mirror-image duty in section 39 of the Charities Act 2011 — which requires most registered charities to state that status on their documents — exists precisely so the public can tell the difference. We take that distinction seriously, which is why this page exists and why the Foundation's own pages carry the same disclosure.

3. No public fundraising by the Foundation

The Foundation does not solicit donations from the public for itself, does not operate a donation button, and does not hold funds collected for charitable purposes. All free education and free/low-cost charity engineering work described on the Foundation and Charity Services pages is paid for out of Christopher Davies' own time and the ordinary revenue of Nautomation Prime — it is not funded by public donations.

This is separate from the Giving With Integrity policy, under which Nautomation Prime intends to donate a percentage of its own commercial revenue to independently vetted, already-registered external charities as the business grows. If the Foundation's scope ever expands to include public fundraising, this page will be updated first, and any fundraising activity will only begin once it complies with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity Commission's fundraising rules, and, where applicable, the Fundraising Regulator's Code of Fundraising Practice.

4. Plans for future registration

Christopher Davies intends to formalise the Nautomation Prime Foundation as a registered charity or Community Interest Company once it reaches a scale that justifies the ongoing governance, reporting, and accounting obligations that come with either structure. Before any such registration is announced on this site, it will have already been completed and confirmed by the relevant regulator (the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI, or Companies House, as applicable) — this page and the Foundation pages will not describe registration as complete, in progress, or imminent until that is true.

Use of the word "Foundation" — confirmed with Companies House

"Foundation" appears on the list of sensitive words and expressions published by Companies House in Annex A of its Incorporation and names guidance. The guidance for that entry states that a company using the word should normally be limited by guarantee, should have a pool of money or a regular source of income to promote its objects, and should include a non-profit distribution clause in its articles of association.

Because those conditions are written for incorporated bodies, and because section 1194 of the Companies Act 2006 restricts the use of specified words in business names as well as company names, Christopher Davies put the question directly to Companies House before beginning to trade, rather than assuming an answer.

Companies House confirmed, by email on 21 September 2026, that the word "Foundation" is sensitive only in an incorporated company name. Because it is being used here in a sole trader's business name, no letter of non-objection or other approval from Companies House is required.

That confirmation is specific to the current position — a sole trader's business name. It does not carry over to incorporation. If the Foundation is later established as a company limited by guarantee, a CIC, or any other incorporated body with "Foundation" in its registered name, the sensitive-word requirements in Annex A will apply at that point and approval will be sought then. This page will be updated before any such step is announced.

Two further points remain outside the scope of that confirmation. The Charity Commission operates its own naming rules and can require a change of name where one is misleading, which would become relevant on any application for registered charity status. And clearance from Companies House says nothing about trade marks: it is not confirmation that the name is free of third-party rights. Nothing on this page should be relied on as confirmation that any particular name or structure has been cleared for registration as a charity or CIC.

Trade mark position

Separately from the Companies House question, a trade mark search was carried out on 21 September 2026 using the WIPO Global Brand Database, which includes the full UK Intellectual Property Office dataset (3,807,011 records, current to 20 September 2026) alongside 88 other national and regional registers.

No registered trade mark or pending application was found for "Nautomation", "Nautomation Prime", or "Automation Prime" in any participating jurisdiction. A Companies House search on the same date returned one dissolved company, NAUTOMATION LTD (company number 11681966, dissolved 16 March 2024), which holds no registered trade mark.

This was a word-mark search carried out as ordinary due diligence. It is not a professional trade mark clearance opinion: it did not cover device or logo marks, similar-mark analysis across related classes, or unregistered rights arising at common law, and no assessment has been made of whether any third party could establish a likelihood of confusion. No trade mark application has been filed, so the name "Nautomation Prime" is not currently protected by registration. Should that change, this page will be updated.

5. Liability for Foundation activity

Because the Foundation is not a separate legal entity, all liability for Foundation activity sits with Christopher Davies personally, on the same basis as the rest of Nautomation Prime's work:

  • Free educational content (tutorials, deep dives, guides) is provided on an "AS IS" basis with no warranty, exactly as set out in the site Disclaimer and Terms of Use.
  • Charity engagements delivered under the Charity Services offer will be subject to the specific liability cap and terms set out on that page, which do not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. Any cap on liability for negligence is in any event effective only so far as it satisfies the requirement of reasonableness in section 11 of that Act — a cap stated on this site is what is proposed, not a guarantee of what a court would enforce.
  • No professional indemnity or public liability insurance level is represented on this site, and none should be assumed. The insurance position will be settled before trading begins, and stated here. Charities and individuals should ask about current insurance arrangements before relying on any free or paid engagement for critical infrastructure.

6. Data protection

Any information collected through a Foundation charity-services application (organisation name, registration number, contact details, and a description of the request) is processed under the same rules as every other enquiry to this site — see the Privacy Policy for the full detail on legal basis, retention, and your rights under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

7. Equal access

Free educational content on the Foundation is available to anyone, without registration, payment, or eligibility screening of any kind. The charity-services offer applies published eligibility and capacity criteria only (see Charity Services) and does not discriminate on the basis of a charity's cause, beneficiaries, or protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

This page is a transparency statement about how Christopher Davies has chosen to operate and describe the Nautomation Prime Foundation. It is provided for information only, is not legal advice, and should not be relied upon as such by any charity, CIC, or individual considering an engagement. If you need certainty about any of the points above for your own organisation's purposes, take independent legal advice.

9. Questions

For questions about this page or the Foundation's legal status, contact enquiries@nautomationprime.io.