Registering your trade mark

In this guide:

Getting the right licences and registrations

A trade mark is a word, symbol or phrase (or other) that identifies a business or its products. It is part of a business´s intellectual property (IP). If you wish to use words in your business name to identify your goods or services, you should register a trade mark. If you don´t, another trader could register your business name as a trade mark for their goods or services, preventing you from using it. Business name or company registration does not automatically allow you to use that name as a trade mark.

A trade mark can consist of a word, phrase, letter, number, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or a combination of these (depending on legal requirements). Before designing and applying for a trade mark on goods or services, you must search official trade mark records to find out whether the trade mark is available. If it is, you can apply for registration under the Trade Marks Act 1995. Learn more about registering a trade mark on the IP Australia website.

Trade marks are protected by law. Companies can take legal action against other traders who use the mark to deceive or confuse the public. Once registered, the trade mark is protected in all Australian states and territories for an initial period of 10 years. If you need protection in other countries, you must register the trade mark in each country.