BRAND PROTECTION
DON'T GET LOST IN A SEA OF SIMILARITY!
F
or your business to succeed,
it must stand apart from
your competitors. The
easiest way to do this is to
have a memorable and distinctive
brand for your business, products
and/or services. This starts with
obtaining a registered trade mark,
not a business name registration,
for that brand.
Registering a business name
doesn’t give you any rights in
relation to the use of that name
in relation to the provision of
goods or services. A business
name registration cannot be used
to make a third party cease using
that or a similar name in their
marketing material, domain name,
or products and services (unless
you can demonstrate substantial
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Women’s Network Magazine
common law use of the business
name in relation to same/similar
goods and services).
Using a business name registration
to protect your branding and
reputation is a very costly process,
far more so than having registered
trade mark rights.
In contrast, registration of a trade
mark gives you the exclusive right
to use your trade mark (your brand)
and authorise others to use the
trade mark in relation to goods and
services specified in the trade mark
registration.
TIPS ON A GOOD TRADE MARK
Your trade mark should distinguish
your business. It should not include
signs which wholly describe
characteristics of your goods or
services including the kind, quality,
purpose, value, or location. For
instance “Fish By the Sea” is not a
good trade mark for a fish shop on
the seaside, although it may be a
great trade mark for a laundromat
in the suburbs.
Generally, the best trade marks
are one to two syllables in length
and are coined words/phrases, or
unique images.
Lastly, you should only seek
registration of the trade mark
as it is used by your business. A
trade mark registration is a waste
of money if the registered trade