Trade Marks and Brand Name Registration
When you choose the name for your new business/company or select an Internet domain name you are creating an identity for your business. Your identity distinguishes your goods and services from your competitors so it is important that it is memorable, meaningful and protected. Business, company names and domain names are best protected when they are also registered as trade marks.
The difference between trade marks, business, company and domain names sometimes causes confusion for both traders and the public. Registration of a business, company or domain name does not in itself give you any proprietary rights to the name – only a trade mark can give you that kind of protection.
Trade Mark and Brand Name Registration
The most effective way to protect a name nationally is by registering it as a trade mark in respect of your goods or services. A trade mark registration gives the owner the exclusive right to use the name in any market place, real or virtual, and takes legal precedence over both business name and domain name registration.
First you should check availability by searching the Australian Trade Mark Register. If there are no conflicting marks on the register and your mark is not completely descriptive or laudatory of your goods or services, you can apply to register it with some confidence of success.
However, if your mark is descriptive or laudatory of your goods or services, the Trade Marks examiner will object to its registration. One way of attempting to overcome this problem is to incorporate the words you have chosen into a logo. Such a mark can be registered if they are original and distinctive.
If accepted by the examiner, your mark will be registered for an initial period of ten years on payment of a registration fee. It is possible to keep the registration in force indefinitely by paying a renewal fee every ten years and continuing to use the mark. It is also possible to use your Australian registration as the basis for overseas registration.
There are two different ways of achieving this. You can apply in individual countries within six months of the Australian application and obtain the same priority date as in Australia. Alternatively you can file a Madrid Protocol Application based on your Australian mark nominating other member countries of interest. If accepted by these other countries, your mark will remain in force in those countries as long as your basic Australian registration is in force. Under the Madrid Protocol it is also possible to keep on adding applications in other member countries as and when you require protection for your exported products or services.
The writer is BILL POTTER, Principal at Varsity IP. Bill has a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Sydney University and more than 25 years experience in providing advice relating to patents, designs, trade marks, business and company names and domain names. Alchemy Equities undertakes Provisional Patent Searches and equity capital raising.
For more information on private equity funds, grants for small business and patent search. Please visit: http://www.alchemyequities.com.au
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