A trade mark is something, usually a name, logo or both, that is used to indicate the origin of the products (goods) or services that you offer. Or put another way, it is your brand that is serving to set your goods or services apart from other traders.

For more information see our page on What Is A Trademark?

• descriptive or laudatory of your goods and/or services; or
• too similar to another trademark on the Register; or
• a common surname; or
• a geographical place name (if that place has significance for the particular goods and/or services).

However, there are exceptions to these rules, particularly if the trademark has been used for some time and acquired a reputation.

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A person or a company may own a trade mark.  A business name is not a legal entity and so cannot own a trade mark (in that case, the person or company who owns the business name should own the trade mark). 

Assignment of a trade mark is relatively straight-forward, and so if you have yet to set up your company, you can own the trade mark personally at the outset and then transfer ownership at a later date.

This is a great question. Having an officially registered trademark for your business is not actually a legal requirement. As long as you are otherwise obeying the legal obligations of running your business, the government will not require you to get a trade mark.

However, if you do not have a registered trademark, you do not have good legal rights to your name or brand. You may not even own your name or your brand. Therefore, it is advisable to get your name protected with a trade mark.

See our Blog post What Happens If I Don’t Get a Trademark? for more information.

No. A business name does not provide you any proprietry rights, and you cannot use it to prevent others from using your name (except in very limited circumstances). A business name is merely the name under which a business operates. Its function is to allow others to identify the business. Only a trade mark will provide good legal rights to prevent others from copying your name or logo.

Read more on our page Trademarking a Business Name.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your mark is not being infringed by another party. Government bodies, such as IP Australia, do not monitor trademark use. If you discover that your mark is being used without your permission you should contact your trademark attorney and take action against the other party.

There are common reasons why a trade mark may not be accepted upon first examination by a government. Review this page to know more about the trademark registration process.

A trademark search is a review of government’s official register of trademarks in order to check if there are any trademarks already on the register that are the same or similar to your trademark.  Why do this?  A trademark may not be registrable where it is considered too similar to a mark that is filed prior in time. It is therefore advisable to search the trademark register for marks similar to your intended mark before filing the application, particularly where money is to be invested into the mark. 

The trademark search report will explain to you how easy or difficult it is likely to be to register your trademark.