Frequently
Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
To asist you with your Trade mark Journey here are answers to frequently asked questions about trademark application and registration in Australia.
Protection from Copycats: Registering your trademark shields your products or services from being imitated by competitors. This prevents confusion among customers and safeguards your business’s reputation.
Asset Security: As your business expands, your brand becomes increasingly valuable. Registering your trademark ensures its protection, safeguarding its value and integrity over time.
Legal Defense: A registered trademark provides a solid legal foundation to defend your brand against infringement. It empowers you to take legal action against unauthorized use, securing your exclusive rights.
Distinctive Branding: Your registered business name and logo set your brand apart from competitors, establishing a unique identity in the market. This differentiation is pivotal for brand recognition and loyalty.
Confidence and Trust: Knowing that your brand is legally safeguarded provides peace of mind. It also communicates to your customers that you’re dedicated to protecting your brand’s reputation, building trust and assurance in your products or services.
In summary, trademark registration is an essential investment for protecting your brand, preserving its value, and ensuring long-term success in the marketplace.
Considering whether to trade mark a logo or a business name? Let’s delve into how to trademark a name specifically.
To trademark a name, you must adhere to the legal protocols established by the Australian Trademark Office. Applied Marks platform, developed by seasoned trade mark attorneys and lawyers, simplifies the entire trademark registration process, offering a seamless online experience.
With a deep understanding of the trademark processes, we’ve engineered this platform to bypass unnecessary hurdles, ensuring a swift and hassle-free registration for everyone. No need to speak to our attorneys or lawyers if you choose the Do It Yourself (DIY) lodgement. However if you wish for a bit of help or you don’t have time to deal with trade mark application, we have ‘Done For You’ option as well.
Our customers testify to the painless nature of trademark registration with Applied Marks with any of the options you decide to proceed with.
We’ve streamlined the application process into four simple steps.
A trade mark legally protects your brand.
Nothing else does!
These are the different types of trade marks you can apply for:
- Word(s) trade mark
Apple, Nike, Google - Logo trade mark
- Slogan trade mark
‘Think Different’ (Apple), ‘Just Do It’ (Nike), ‘Because You’re Worth It (L’Oréal Paris) - Shape trade mark
Examples:
- Colour trade mark
Other trade marks can include smell and movement.
A word trade mark offers the most comprehensive protection by granting the owner exclusive rights to the brand name. Conversely, a logo trademark protects the visual representation or “look and feel” of the brand, affording some protection for the words included in the logo. The primary advantage of a word mark is its enduring protection: even if you choose to update your brand logo later on, the word mark ensures ongoing safeguarding of the brand name. In contrast, altering your logo necessitates applying for a new logo trademark, thereby potentially exposing the brand name to risk if not adequately protected.
If you are a ‘sole trader’, you as the individual should be the owner of the trade mark.
If two or more people (in a partnership) can own the trade mark (lodge in the names of the people in the partnership).
If you have a company name (PTY LTD) and company registration number, then your company should own the trade mark.
The rightful owner of a trade mark is the owner that can prove “use” of the trade mark.
If you are unsure, you can contact us.
If you are a ‘sole trader’, you as the individual should be the owner of the trademark.
If two or more people (in a partnership) can own the trademark (lodge in the names of the people in the partnership).
If you have a company name (PTY LTD) and company registration number, then your company should own the trademark.
The rightful owner of a trademark is the owner that can prove “use” of the trademark.
If you are unsure, you can contact us here CLICK HERE
No, a Trust can not own a trade mark. The trustees to the Trust are the owners of the trade mark. If unsure, you can opt to engage for extra help.
Business owners often select descriptive or generic words as brand names to effectively communicate their offerings and it is easier to be found on Google searches. However, these names usually lack the distinctiveness required for trademark registration because they contain terms that other traders should not be restricted from using.
In such cases, many brand owners opt to register a logo as a trademark to gain some level of trademark protection for their brands. By registering a logo, they can secure exclusive rights to the visual representation of their brand, strengthening their brand identity and guarding against unauthorized use or imitation. Although this approach may not offer as comprehensive protection as a word trademark, it provides a valuable legal safeguard for businesses with descriptive or generic brand names.
It can take up to eight months from application to registration in Australia for an issue-free application. If there is an issue, this process will take longer depending on the issue(s).
When you apply for the trade mark via our AI assisted applications platform. It is lodged with the Australian Trade Mark Office to ensure it meets the necessary legal requirements. After submitting your application, you can expect a waiting period of around 6 months as the standard examination waiting period.
Once your application reaches the front of the queue, a trademark examiner will review it. If your trademark fails to meet the requirements, you’ll receive a notice of objection. Common objections include lack of distinctiveness or being too descriptive. We’ll handle any formalities objections, such as incomplete details, at no additional cost, though they may cause slight delays.
After submitting your application, we’ll send you a notification via email. Following examination, we’ll update you on its acceptance or any objections raised. If objections are resolved, your trademark will be published for a 2-month period, during which third parties can oppose it, though this is rare.
Assuming no oppositions are filed, your trademark proceeds to registration after the 2-month period. You’ll then receive an email with your registration certificate and number, allowing you to use the registered trademark symbol ® with your brand and enjoy the exclusive rights it offers.
Start: Application → Trade Mark Examination (up to six months) → opposition period (advertised for objections from third parties) → no objections (2 months) → trade mark application is registered.
Ask us about expedited Examination!
For those who cannot wait for six months for an examination, we can ask for a preliminary report which significantly reduces the examination time from six months to around two weeks. While it doesn’t expedite the overall trademark process, which still takes up to eight months, it prioritizes the examination of your brand name. If you wish to know more about this option, please contact us.
Applied Marks lodges your Australian trademark application,
We’ll keep you updated on its progress via email:
- Approval and Publication: If the Trademark Office approves and subsequently publishes your application, we’ll notify you of the good news by email!
- Trademark Objection: In the event your application encounters a trademark objection concerning the wording of the goods and/or services, we’ll rectify it at no charge and inform you via email.
Other Objections: Your application may face delays if:
- Another entity possesses an earlier trademark registration identical or confusingly similar to yours.
- Your trademark fails to meet the criteria set by the Trademark Office for registration.
- Another entity formally opposes the registration of your trademark.
In such cases, we’ll email you a copy of the communication from the Trademark Office. Our team of consultants will offer you options at no cost to address the issue. If your trademark application doesn’t meet the Trademark Office’s requirements, it won’t proceed to acceptance or registration.
Trademark Registration: Upon acceptance and expiration of the opposition period, if your trademark is successfully registered, we’ll email you the trademark registration certificate. We’ll also provide guidance on how to renew your trademark when necessary. As a trademark registrant, you’ll be entitled to use the registered trademark symbol ® with your trademark!
We’re dedicated to assisting businesses in registering their trademarks successfully. Feel free to reach out during business hours for any assistance.
A trade mark registration is for ten years.
It is renewable every ten years thereafter until you decide you do not want to own it anymore.
A company, as a distinct legal entity, is formally registered with ASIC (Australian Securities & Investment Commission). A company is obligated to have its own name, which must include the legal terms or abbreviations ‘PTY LTD’ at the end of the company name.
However, if a company wishes to conduct business under a name that does not include these legal terms or desires to use a different name altogether, it has the option to register a business name. This allows the company to operate under its chosen name without the inclusion of the legal terms. If opting for a different name, the company must apply for a business name that is linked to its registered company name. It is important to note that the company name does not provide the business owner the right to promote the brand name. There is no legal protection afforded to the business owner. Only a trade mark registration does.
A business name is simply a name under which you conduct a business. You must register a business name in Australia, unless you trade under your own name (sole trader), or fall within an exemption.
It is important to note that the business name registration does not provide the business owner the right to promote the brand name. There is no legal protection afforded to the business owner. Only a trade mark registration does.