18 August 2010

What is a trademark?

A trademark can take many forms and in some cases be a slogan, business name, company name, signature product, company logo or product logo. Some of the non conventional trademark forms are a letter, number, sound, smell or shape that is strongly associated to your business. You may be recognized more so by an aspect of your packaging or how you deliver your products to your consumers. Therefore all of the above or a combination of the above can be trademarked by the government with the right kind of application.

Often why a business will lodge a trademark is to distinguish their goods and services in the market. Due to the competitiveness of nearly every major industry in Australia it is becoming more and more important to incorporate trademarks into every business model. A registered trademark gives you the legal right to use, sell or license your trademark within Australia for the goods and services for which it is registered.

Even if you may own the product or the company; or have exclusive manufacturing rights to the patent a registered trademark will provide you or your business with the rights to exclusively use and sell the advertising rights to that product or company. Therefore it is important to recognize that the registration of a company name, business name or domain name does not in itself give you any proprietary rights to the name or image as only a trademark will give you that kind of protection.

It is important to note that a trademark can be a valuable marketing tool and therefore should be an integral part of any marketing strategy. Marketing is all about positively identifying a person wants or needs with a service or product that satisfies those wants or needs. Therefore if you are able to positively market your business it is only natural that you would want those customers to find you and not your competitor. The natural public will then be able to identify a certain quality image to your goods and services bearing that mark.

The bottom line is if you want to maintain good will with your clients you must consider investing in a trademark. Trademark registration is not compulsory yet a good marketing company that is truly concerned about your future success would recommend it. To attempt to prosecute a competitor in the common law system without a trademark can be both time and consuming and very costly.  For quality advice about how to register a trademark to ensure that you are protect contact PYI on 1300 114 219 today and we can take care of the rest for you!

17 August 2010

What to consider before undertaking a trademark search?

A trademark search consist of two aspects the first aspect involving an analysis of the trademark registry and the second in relation to whether your trademark search meets government guidelines. Therefore I have attempted to explain what is primarily involved in both of those processes below to hopefully answer most of your questions. When attempting to trademark a logo due to the visually intricacy of the information involved as well as the additional guidelines that apply when trade marking a logo rather than undertaking a trademark search contact one of the staff at PYI on 1300 114 219 to assist you.

PYI has a free search function in built within the website which can be found on our trademark page providing you full access to undertake a trademark search within the government database. It is important that after you have inserted the correct spelling of your trademark that you also describe your business as succinct as possible. The reason why this needs to be accurate is when a trademark search is conducted results are based on an analysis of 45 different classes; therefore you need to ensure that the trademark search is conducted within the class that best suits your needs. Please feel free to talk with us directly if you feel that the whole process looks daunting and we would be happy to undertake an accurate trademark search for you.

To ensure a trademark search meets government guidelines please view a list of requirements that the Trade Marks Act requires to successfully process and application:

1. Your trademark needs to be a term that other traders do not need to use in the normal course of their trade.
   
   This includes ever day language that should remain available for others to use. Granting rights to a word that is applicable to everyone such as geographical names, common surnames and trade expression relevant to the industry will not be accepted.
   
   What will result in a positive trademark search result if not already taken includes:
   
   - Invented Words: Florenciana
   - Suggestive or Emotive Words: Splendor Clothing
   - Words that don’t describe what they will be used on: Phone for coffee services
   
   What will result in a negative trademark search result without question include:
   
   - Descriptive words and phrases on their own: Orange for drinks
   - Short combinations of numbers or letters on their own: F-69
   - Common surnames on their own: such as ‘Smith’
2. Your trademark needs to be different from the trademarks of other traders for several reasons that are both legally relevant and in your best interest:
   
   - Obviously you don’t want to use a trademark that another trader is already using on
   goods and services that are similar to yours
   - Similar trademarks can only be registered if they relate to different industries and are
   therefore registered in a different class

Feel free to undertake a trademark search on our website yet we strongly recommend you obtain professional advice first before significant decisions are made to ensure you are truly protected. For professional Jargon – Free advice contact PYI today on 1300 114 219!

16 August 2010

What does trademark registration in Australia mean for my business?

From an online perspective trademark registration in Australia protects your business from not only people using your business or product name as keyword to trigger their ads when such a term is searched; yet also prevents businesses from using your business name or product name in ad text as well. According to the Google Trademark Policy trademark registration in Australia clearly states that Google will investigate and remove registered trademarks used by a third party in both its ‘ad text’ and ‘keywords’ within Australia if the owner of the trademark has not given such an entity prior consent.

In the offline world trademark registration in Australia can prohibit third parties from packaging their products with your labels, publishing marketing material with your image, providing services to their consumers under your name etc. Even though a business may have another business name or company name and could be selling a very different product or service in comparison to you; if you do not undertake trademark registration in Australia for such an item there is nothing stopping them from false advertising under your name. Therefore there is no point investing significant amounts of money into a business image that can be just as easily stolen away from you at anytime.

Guidelines for trademark registration in Australia:

1. Trademark registration in Australia is based on a “first to file” basis meaning that if someone else lodges an application before you, chances are you will miss out.
2. In most cases the right to stop someone using your chosen trademark will only be enforced at the time of trademark registration.
3. Your trademark needs to be a term that other traders do not need to use in the normal course of their trade.
4. Your trademark needs to be different from the trademarks of other traders for several reasons that are both legally relevant and in your best interest.
5. It is therefore very important to get in early to ensure your trademark application doesn’t miss out!

Benefits of trademark registration in Australia:

1. You have an exclusive legal right to use you trademark for your goods and services, both
   online and offline.
2. You can stop others from using your brand and trading off, or damaging your reputations.
3. You have intellectual property which is a valuable business asset the can be sold or licensed.
4. You have legal protection Australian- wide under the Trade Mark Act whereby all fees are also tax deductable.
5. You are able to ad credibility to the name of your business product or service providing an overall warning to the general public.

Contact PYI on 1300 114 219 if you require any further information or advice in regards to trademark registration in Australia.

20 August 2010

Trademarks Australia

Australian Trademark Registration is now extremely important when distinguishing the goods or services of one trader from those of another.   Australian trademarks can be used as property and something which the owner can license or sell.  As it communicates a business' reputation, it can be one of the most valuable assets of a business and therefore worth protecting.

It is important to keep in mind that other formal documents either provided by the government or by an authorised legal entity do not give you exclusive marketing to rights to a name, slogan or logo unless you posses the registered trademark. Therefore your business may require more than one trade mark to be completely protected and it is important to note that all of the following may make you or your business vulnerable without the right protection strategy as none are registered trademarks:

• Your Company Name or Company Logo
• Your Personal Name or Business Name
• Your Domain name or other common variations
• A signature Product Service or Brand you may offer

The most effective way of protecting your trade mark is with trademarks registration. Registering trademarks provides the following significant legal and commercial advantages for every business.

1. Trademark Registration in Australia provides your business with the exclusive right to use the mark throughout Australia, protecting the reputation developed in your brand;
2. Trademark Registration in Australia provides your business with clear statutory ownership rights to prevent other traders from using the mark in relation to your registered goods or services;
3. Trademark Registration in Australia means that your intellectual property will be listed on the official Trademark Registry and will raise an objection to the registration of any future trade mark applications made by your competitors or others for identical or similar marks in relation to similar goods or services.
4. Trademark Registration in Australia deters others from adopting your trade mark by being recorded on the public Trade Marks Register which therefore places other traders on notice of your trade mark rights.
5. Trademark Registration in Australia entitles you to use the ® symbol in close association with your trade mark, serving as a useful notice to other traders that your trade mark is your property.
6. Trademark Registration in Australia is property which can be assigned or licensed to others, for example, in return for payment.

As it is primarily your trade mark which differentiates your business from those of others, protecting this reputation and goodwill with registered Trademarks in Australia is an important part of any business strategy.  Enforcing your rights to your brand with a registered trademark in Australia provides your business with a stronger position in the event of a competitor trying to profit from your customers and positive reputation.

2 December 2010

Important information on Business Name Registration

Going through the process of registering a business name is important part of starting your own company. These days learning how to register a business name is a relatively simple process thanks to the wealth of information available online. Below is some important information regarding the register of business names in Australia.

• After you register a Business name - that name is valid for five years, after which time it must be renewed. You are responsible for re registering a business name before the end of five years.
• When you change either your business name or your business type, a new business registration is required and you must pay an additional registration fee.
• Following your business registration you will be assigned an ABN (Australian Business Number) which will become a required reference point when conducting business in Australia. Most importantly, the ABN is used for tax purposes, and will be required when filing any type of official document.
• Having registered your business name with the business names registration process, it's also very important to register your business as a trademark to protect yourself from similar businesses operating under the same name attempting to take your market share.
• If your business name is also your product it is imperative that you register for a trademark.

While the government keeps a business name register, this is purely for tax purposes - it does not entitle you to any official, and more importantly exclusive, ownership of a name. A trade mark refers to legal ownership of name, in one of many different capacities. For instance, if you own the trademark for a retail store, you need to lodge a separate application in order to be able to own the rights to tag the clothing you sell with that name.

Without a trademark, you could be forced to remove all acknowledgement from your business - be that property, vehicles, business cards and promotional materials. All of this must be done within five days of you receiving an official 'cease and assist' letter. By trade marking your business, and therefore protecting yourself, you could save your business thousands of dollars.

While you can trademark for the same name as your business, your ABN cannot have ownership over a trademark - as a registered business name is not a legal entity. A trademark can either be legally owned by a single person or a company. If there is more than one owner of your business, consider registering a company name. Find out more about registering a company name here.

Trade marking is just as simple as business name registration. Here at PYI, we make it easy. Simply speak to one of our trademark consultants, and we can have your application lodged by the end of the day. For just two easy payments, you will supported through the whole process by trademark lawyers to ensure your registration is successful.

For more information on trademark registry in relation to business name registration, and how it can aid in affecting your business, click here.

3 December 2010

Information on How to Register A Company Name

While registering a company name can be time consuming process, it is one of the most important elements in starting your own company. However, thanks to the internet, the process of learning how to register a company name is a relatively easy. The following is some information you should take on board when it comes to the register of company names in Australia.

It is important to keep in mind that once you register a company name, that particular name will remain valid for five years. After this period of time has elapse, it must be renewed and as the owner, you are responsible for registering a company name once more before the five year period has ended.

When changing either your company name or your company type, a new company registration is required. At this point new company registrations also require that you pay an extra registration fee.

One your company registration is completed you will be assigned an ABN (Australian Business Number) which will become a required reference point when conducting business in Australia. Having registered your company name with the business names registration process, it's also very important to register your business as a trademark.

Until you officially trademark a name, you have no legal ownership to that name. What could this mean for your company? Well, the potential is thousands of dollars in losses from having to remove your business name from property, vehicles, products and promotional items. Ownership of a trademark gives you the power to send a cease and assist letter to anyone who infringes on those rights, forcing them to remove any mention of your name within 5 days. Do you want to risk being on the receiving end of such a letter?

Trademarks are categorised in different classes, therefore it may be imperative to lodge more than one trademark in different parts of your business. For instance, if you own a retail clothing store, and trademark the name in a retail business capacity - you have the legal ownership to call your business the said name, but not necessarily to sell clothing itself under that name.

By registering as a company, you are already on your way. Trademarks can only be legally owned by a single person or a company, not a business. If your business comprises several owners, it is wise to consider registering the trademark to the company, just in case the legal owner decides to leave the business. Once you own a trademark you have the right to distribute it as you see fit - including leasing or selling. Therefore if you sell your business, you can sell the trademark along with it.

Registering a trademark is as simple as registering a company. Call one of our friendly trademark consultants by 4pm, and we'll have your trademark lodged by the end of the day. The whole process is supported by a trademark attorney, and you will only be charged two easy payments regardless of how much legal help you might need.

For more information on trademark registry and how it could potentially save you thousands of dollars, click here.