What Is a Trademark? Why Should I Register One?
What is a Trademark?
According to the Australian TRADE MARKS ACT 1995 – SECT 17,
“A trade mark is a sign used, or intended to be used, to distinguish goods or services dealt with or provided in the course of trade by a person from goods or services so dealt with or provided by any other person.”
This basically means any word/s, logo, image, colour, sound, shape or smell (or combination of these things) that you are using as a brand for your product or service; the ‘badge of origin’ that tells consumers and others the product or service comes from your business and not from somewhere else. It will be more difficult to register your trademark if it is generic, descriptive or in conflict with earlier trademarks.
Why Should I Register One?
There are a lot of benefits to registering your trademarks, which include rights in that brand or trademark that you don’t have otherwise:
- You are granted the right to use your registered trademark for its associated goods/services; without trademark registration you do not necessarily have the right to use your distinctive signs (including business names, company names and brand names) and may inadvertently infringement
- You are granted the right to authorise the use of your registered trademark to others, such as in a licensing arrangement or franchise situation; and
- You are granted the right to stop others from using your registered trademark (or a trademark closely resembling your registered trademark) for similar goods/services. Again, without registering your trademarks it can be challenging, and often more costly, to stop infringers from trading off your brand and reputation.
More Information?
If you are interested in protecting your brands, names and logos we would love to assist. You can read more about the Australian trademark registration process, or simply fill in the form belowto the right and we will get back to you promptly.
