Business Name Registration – What’s Involved
So you’ve selected the perfect business name and registered it through the ASIC website.
That will stop anyone from having any legal rights to use for my business name, right?
Incorrect!
While registering a business name with ASIC is required, it actually does not provide your business with any legal rights!
This is where a registered Trade Mark comes into play. The Trade Mark will act as a protection guard for the business name and gives it a true legal right if someone attempts to use the same or similar name.
It’s also important to note that a business name registration won’t safeguard you against existing registered Trade Marks.
The difference between Trade Mark register & ASIC register
In Australia, all business names are required to be registered via the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) website.
Whereas, a registered Trade Mark is maintained on the Australian Trade Mark register by IP Australia.
A common misconception is that an ASIC registration and a Trade Mark registration are linked together somehow. This is incorrect.
So once you’ve registered a business name, contact a Trade Mark expert like Raven IP to get started!
Take Charge & Do the Research!
An important step before proceeding with a business name registration or adopting any new brand is to search the Trade Mark register for any prior registrations that may be similar to your brand or business name for similar goods/services. This will allow you to find what’s already out there and if you’ll face any problems in the future with your business name or new brand.
Does this sound overwhelming? Let the expert team at Raven IP help you!
Choose a Unique & Easy to Remember Business Name
We also recommend that you select a business name that is both easy to remember and is unique. Remember, what you choose must serve as a badge of origin for your business. For example, you obviously can’t register ABC in Australia. But you could add the business service on the end, such as ABC Plumbing Gold Coast.
The more unique a business name, the better chance you’ll have of securing a registered Trade Mark.
How to Protect Your Business Name?
So you’ve chosen a unique and descriptive business name and registered it with ASIC.
What’s next?
Now it’s time to protect your business name as a registered Trade Mark!
Registering a Trade Mark provides you with exclusive rights to use your trade mark at the exclusion of others. A registered trade mark can also stop others from registering similar business names. A Trade Mark is also a valuable asset and can develop into a source of goodwill for the business.
A Trade Mark can be registered in one of up to 45 product and service classes.
Our job is to help you choose the correct category for your business name.
Marketing Benefits
In the world of Search Engine and Social Media Marketing, it’s very easy to set up ads that can target your business name and potentially steal your customers. Which is obviously not ideal!
Such examples include a competitor Google Ad that shows at the top of a Google search result for your business name.
The good news is that Google or Bing provides business owners with registered trade marks with the ability to remove the result by contacting their support team or flagging the ad as inappropriate.
The same can be said for such Social Media Platforms as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more.
