In many cases, the best recourse will be to file a trademark in your intended name. Whether someone else has beaten you to registering your business name or has obtained a trademark on the name your business has been using, there is not very much you can do about it immediately. In fact, someone else holding an exclusive right to the name (such as in a legally obtained trademark) might lead to your use of the name as being a trademark infringement.

The level of protection you have obtained will decide what you can do next. Business name registration alone does not mean you are the only one who can use the name. Anyone can open a business with any name or a name similar to yours if they want should a trademark not be in place of that business name. Contact us to find out for certain if your business name has been trademarked, or use our trademark search tool to determine if it is still available.

If you are a sole proprietorship or partnership, you might not have the sense of protection you might think. Only an incorporated business carries some business name protection but in a limited region.

Obtaining a trademark on your name, whatever your business structure is, is probably your best course to prevent others from using the same name. Having a registered trademark in Australia will give you the legal rights to initiate trademark infringement proceedings if someone else is using your name or other protected elements you have the exclusivity of a trademark on.

Since trademarks are administered on a “first to file” basis, make sure you are not too late to protect your valuable business name. Call us for same day trademark application in Australia!