Have you considered registering your business or company name or the names of important products or services as a trade mark? Registered trade marks give you a proprietary interest in the name and you have statutory protection throughout Australia against infringement by other traders using identical or similar names for the same or similar goods and/or services. This level of protection does not extend to the registration of a company or business name and common law protection only extends to marks used for a long time and have become well known in their own right.
Registering a trade mark is a simple and relatively inexpensive process and when you consider that registration lasts for ten years, the protection far outweighs the cost. Selecting a great trade mark capable of registration requires some thought and it is prudent to undertake searches to see whether any other trader has already registered or is using the same or a similar mark.
For further information on the process and costs associated with registering a trade mark,
