Who really owns it Registries turn a brand into a legal entity with a number, dates, addresses, and named people. The thing nobody tells you first: registry structure varies enormously by jurisdiction, and that variance is the entire game. One country publishes full accounts, share registers, and directors' birth dates for free. Its neighbour publishes a name and a status code and charges for the rest. Your research strategy is not "look up the company" — it is "work out what this jurisdiction lets me see, then plan around the gap". Second thing: search by company number , not name. The numbe…