To fully realize what the consequences of not registering your trademark are, we will look at the benefits of obtaining legal ownership of your trademark.

By registering your trademark in Australia, you will get greater legal protection for your company’s name, logo, and other trademark. Without it, you won’t have exclusivity nationwide. As a result, confusing variations or your name or logo (as an example) itself can be used by anyone,  leading to a weakened brand.

Imagine if anyone who could fry up a burger could open a McDonald’s (non-franchise) and use the golden arches logo, including a seedy hole-in-the-wall downtown?  McDonald’s would not be the internationally recognizable or well-patronized business it is.

Furthermore, when someone else does beat McDonald’s in obtaining a trademark for the name and logo (remember trademark registration in Australia is on a “first to file” basis), McDonald’s might even be accused of trademark infringement. Of course, McDonalds and all internationally known brands share a common denominator—their trademarks are valuable enough to them to be registered and protected. See a pattern?