Registering your trade mark is a significant step in protecting your valuable business assets. A trade mark is a badge of origin and a way to distinguish your brand. As your business grows, so does the value of your goodwill and reputation. A registered trade mark protects this value and turns it into a tangible asset.
As part of our comprehensive intellectual property services, our trade mark lawyers in Melbourne help clients achieve trade mark registration, both in Australia and globally.
Get in touch to find out more.
Expertise
We provide trade mark services and advice in industries and disciplines, including:
- Ecommerce
- Media and entertainment
- Retail and fashion
- Food and beverage
- Technology
- Health and fitness
- Sports
- Tourism
Services
We offer fixed-fee rates and alternative pricing models because we understand the importance of cost certainty.
Our trade mark legal services include:
- Strategic advice for brand identification and protection
- Clearance searches and monitoring services
- National and international trade mark registration
- Trade mark portfolio management
- Responding to adverse examination reports
- Liaising and negotiating with IP Australia regarding opposition to the registration of a trade mark
- Liaising and negotiating with IP Australia regarding an application to remove trade mark protection
- Trade mark infringement
- Dispute resolution
Trade marking is complex. However, our step-by-step guide may help to clarify the process.
Contact us to find out how we can use trade marking to protect your brand
Trade mark lawyers in Melbourne and Victoria FAQs
It’s not legally necessary to register a trade mark so that your brand can operate under a trading name (unlike registration of a business name). However, a registered trade mark can be one of the most valuable business assets.
A registered trade mark provides you with the ability to sue for trade mark infringement under trade mark legislation. But without registration, enforcing your rights is much more difficult. Another benefit is that some e-commerce platforms like Amazon offer additional brand-protection rights and mechanisms for businesses with registered trade marks.
Registering a trade mark is an affordable, straightforward process. Contact our trade mark lawyers in Melbourne to learn more.
If you’re trading under a name that’s different from your company name, you’re legally required to register a business name. However, a registered business name doesn’t offer the same exclusive rights as a registered trade mark. It means that if someone else uses your business name, you don’t have the right to stop them even though it’s registered.
Only a registered trade mark provides you with the legal rights to prevent others from using the same or similar name. Merely registering a business name doesn’t offer this level of protection.
Sometimes, it isn’t easy to know whether to register a trade mark. Ultimately, this will depend on how vital brand identity and protection is to you and your business.
To work out whether to register a trade mark, you may wish to consider:
- Whether you plan to grow your business
- Whether you have any concerns about competitors using your mark
- What products or services you will be providing
- How you will market and sell your product or services
If you don’t have a registered trade mark, you may still have rights at common law if you can prove that you have established a reputation in the trade mark. It can be challenging to demonstrate, but if you can establish a sufficient reputation in the market, you may prevent others from using the same mark. You may be able to claim:
- Misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law: If the infringer has or may mislead or deceive consumers into believing there is some association or relationship between your brand and theirs
- Passing off under common law: If you can prove that the infringer is “passing off” on your reputation and goodwill, resulting in damage to your reputation or business
IP Australia is the Government agency that oversees intellectual property and trade marking issues in Australia. When you register your trade mark with IP Australia, you get exclusive rights to the trade mark, but only in Australia. If you operate your business overseas, you must register your trade mark in every relevant country for similar rights and protection.
There is no such thing as international registration. You must register your trade mark with each country in which you intend to use the mark. There are more cost-effective ways to register in multiple jurisdictions, for example, under the Madrid Protocol. However, it may be better to register directly with each country if you are only looking at one or two overseas jurisdictions.
We recommend that you decide as soon as possible which other countries you intend to expand to, and check whether your desired trade mark is available. It prevents future issues. For example, if you realise that your name is already registered by someone else in the United States, and you might have to rebrand.
Contact us for more information about international trade mark registration.
If you have a registered trade mark, you have exclusive rights to use that mark in relation to the goods or services to which it is registered. It means that if you come across another business using your name for the same goods or services, you have rights under the Trade Marks Act to stop them from using that name.
Sometimes, these issues are resolved by sending a cease and desist letter or through commercial negotiation. However, if that doesn’t work or isn’t an available option, you may be able to seek a court order to stop the use of your name. Potentially, you could also claim compensation for any loss.
It’s vital to ensure that you have a legal basis before taking legal action, because groundless threats of trade mark infringement can have negative consequences for you.
Make your mark on your business and safeguard its future
