Trademarks

Create wealth by protecting great brands!

One highly sought after intellectual property right is a trademark.

So what can be registered as a trademark?

In many situations, you can register:

  • Slogans, catch-phrases, surnames, signatures, brands, logos, company names, business names, domain names, aspects of packaging (e.g. Toblerone box), colour, scent or even shape.

  • In fact, you can register any sign which is capable of distinguishing your goods and/or services from those of other traders.
  • Our patent and trademark attorney firm can investigate whether your proposed trademark can be registered as a trademark or if it has already been claimed by another trader (1 week turn around time).

So why register a trademark?

  • When you are selling a good product or service, it is highly recommended to have a trademark registration before an infringement occurs.
  • If you are successful in business, it is highly likely that someone is copying your brand to pull your customers and profit.
  • Will your trademark cover you for slight changes? Answer: It depends on how you file the trademark application.
  • Defend your rights against another trader who could threaten your business.

How can you make money or wealth from a trademark, slogans, brands, etc?

  • How much do you think famous trademarks such as Nike, Rolls-Royce, Mitsubishi, Mars, Wendy’s would fetch? In most cases, they are in the millions, and can even reach a billion dollars.
  • To protect this million or billion dollar brand, they don’t have 1 trademark, they usually have 100′s or even 1000′s of trademarks covering many countries.
  • Many companies earn royalties by licensing use of their trademark to other traders.
  • Many franchises operate on a similar basis, and are supported by a good trademark which is well protected.
  • In some cases, franchises can lodge up to 50 trademarks or more to protect their legal interests and profit from their goodwill and reputation.
  • Your business becomes more attractive to prospective buyers.
  • You can sell your trademark, and the good news is, the greater you have succeed in creating awareness of the trademark, the greater the value.

I want to proceed directly to an online application form (click here)

Our trademark searches give you peace of mind and allow you to concentrate on developing your business without worry

  • Many trademark applications are rejected on the basis that the same or similar trademark exists,
  • Did you know it can take up to 9 months or longer before you find out if you can register a trademark,
  • Lodging a trademark application has its own risks, namely because it is publically listed and another trader with existing rights (even similar) can be alerted to your interests.
  • Consider the safer approach – a well conducted and analysed search.
  • Common traps:
    • once you lodge a trademark application is lodged, it goes public and this can lead to infringement action,
    • there are many trademark information systems, how do you now you have searched them and didn’t miss an important result, and
    • thinking that another name has a slight spelling difference and is not a problem.

  • Thorough trademark searches are important and worth the investment to avoid litigation:
    • unfortunately there are many “light” searches which just are not effective in limiting your liability and infringement risk.
    • a few minutes of searching is inadequate.
    • in our experience, 4-5 hours of searches is the minimum required to avoid significant liability and risk.
    • make sure you search 3 areas to be safe: The Australian Trademarks Register, common law trademarks and also the international trademark registers for potential conflicts.
    • we see all too often, companies becoming liable because of no search or inadequate searches.
    • a thorough search means that 9 months of waiting will usually result in successfully registering your proposed trademark.
    • a thorough search allows you to be confident with developing your business.
    • a thorough search provides peace of mind that the name cannot be taken from you later.

Our searching services:

  1. provide peace of mind and business confidence.
  2. are conducted by experienced patent and trademark attorneys.
  3. our Trademarks Attorneys have between 12-22 years of trademark searching experience.
  4. provide a convenient written report & a letter of trademark advice so you can refer to this in the future.

Further information:

  • Many trademark applications are rejected because the trademark does not qualify for protection or are filed incorrectly.
  • Even if accepted, the Trademark Registration can simply be “incorrect” and provide little or no legal rights to protect your business in the event of copying.
  • Badly defined good and services in a trademark registration may even lead to removal of your trademark rights.
  • Our firm ensures that you will acquire broad trademark rights and will minimise your exposure to the above issues.
  • Failure to spot infringements (brand theft) early can result in a loss of trademark rights, significant legal conflict, or may end up with you having to share your brand with a competitor.

At Australian Patent and TradeMark Services, we:

  • provide intellectual property tuition and education services,
  • monitor your competitor’s trademark filings for conflicts,
  • monitor the marketplace to identify copying of your brand(s),
  • provide trademark opposition and infringement advice,
  • lodge overseas trademark applications (for example United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia, etc),
  • have an extensive network of overseas patent and trademark agents.

I want to proceed directly to an online application form (click here)

We look forward to assisting you today!