Should you register a trademark for your business name, company name and logo in Australia?
3 reasons why registering a trademark in Australia can benefit your business.
When you start a business, it’s fair to say that registering a trademark may not make it on your ‘must-do’ list. You’ll have web design, business planning, marketing strategy, customer management and financial forecasts on your list. And when it comes to ‘legal stuff’ it can be easier to put it on the “I’ll get to this when I’m a bigger business” list.
At Quick Off the Mark® we understand why many businesses put off registering a trademark for their business name, name, logo, company name or registering their other intellectual property. From the outside, it can look like a complicated, expensive process.
Owning and operating a business can be challenging because of the responsibilities you have. You’ve got customers to look after, staff to manage and business development to worry about.
It’s also important to think about protecting your intellectual property and business reputation. And that’s where Quick Off the Mark® can give you some guidance.
We get asked every day about why it’s important to register a trademark in Australia. When you register a business name as a trademark in Australia you have the exclusive right to use your business name as a brand. This gives you legal protection from anyone trying to copy you or profit from your brand, business name or this type of intellectual property.
Quick Off the Mark® clients see registering a trademark for their business name, company name, logo and intellectual property as an ‘insurance’ for their business. The peace of mind they get from having a registered trademark makes all the time, money and effort they invest into their business worthwhile.
Reason 1 how registering a trademark in Australia can benefit your business. Your unprotected brand, business name, company name or intellectual property can be a liability for you now.
Using your business name, brand and intellectual property without registration or protection only gives you common law ownership of them – as an unregistered trademark or unregistered piece of intellectual property.
And that’s all good until one day down the track, you encounter someone infringing on your logo, business name, company name, or intellectual property. Or, you realise someone else has registered your brand as a trademark. So what happens then?
Well, as with all things law related, it can get complicated and expensive really quickly.
Investing in a trademark for your business name, company name or protecting your other intellectual property and logo is an investment and insurance for your business now and in the future.
At Quick Off the Mark® our low cost trademark registration gives you a 10-year protection period for your business name, logo, company name or other distinctive ‘sign’ (renewable each 10 years, indefinitely). This is peace of mind for a decade knowing that whilst registered you enjoy the rights that come with that registration – the right to use your brand, business name or logo and the right to stop copy-cats from confusing the marketplace through use of a similar name or logo within your industry.
Reason 2 how registering a trademark in Australia can benefit your business. It helps your business expansion plans run more smoothly
If you don’t register your business name or company name as a trademark, you could be limiting your future plans.
Imagine meeting with someone to license or franchise your business. It’s crucial that you can show them you own all your trademarks. Because if you can’t show that you own trademarks over your brand, business name, company name and intellectual property, how can they trust you and why would they invest? Trademark registration provides the owner with the right to authorise others to use the trademark (i.e. as in licensing).
Reason 3 how registering a trademark in Australia can benefit your business. It makes your business more investable
Picture this: you’re at a meeting with some prospective investors who love you, your business and its potential. They’ve got the money, the reputation and the experience to help you skyrocket your business internationally.
After they ask you a few questions you say “no” to and they walk out of your office (and life) without a backward glance, because ‘you’re not a safe investment now’ you realise that you need to make sure your business is ready when opportunities for business growth, investment and expansion overseas come your way.
If you can’t say YES to the following, it may be time to give Quick Off the Mark® a call to find out how to make your business ready for investors!
“Do you have your business name, company name, logo, intellectual property registered as trademarks nationally and in the markets you’re eager to get into?”
Conclusion
In conclusion, whilst trademark registration is thought to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be. The costs of not protecting business names, brands, logos and the like can often outweigh the cost of registering them in the first place.
Picture the cost of re-branding because a trademark owner believes you’re infringing their rights, or the costs of having to defend such an allegation.
Picture the cost of losing investment or future growth because you cannot offer ‘peace of mind’ through the knowledge that your brands are protected.
Contact Quick Off the Mark® to see how our low cost trademark registration services can help you protect your valuable business assets or complete our online application form to get started with registering your brand as a trademark.
BIO:
Quick Off the Mark® is a division of Mark My Words Trademark Services Pty Ltd (MMW). MMW was founded in 2011 and is headed by Jacqui Pryor, a registered trade marks attorney with more than 16 years experience.
In 2015 MMW acquired Quick Off the Mark®, which is a fast and affordable Australian trademark registration service. Quick Off the Mark® offers fixed fees that are affordable to help Australian businesses register their trademarks.
Disclaimer – The advice provided in this blog is general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account your business objectives, legal situation or needs. Before acting on this advice you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your own objectives, legal situation and needs.