When it comes to protecting your business name, nothing comes close to a trademark registration.
Of course, this has nothing to do with SEO, but part of a good SEO consultant’s job (I believe) is to pass on good, usable advice which may help your business and brand grow.
So, is YOUR trading name protected? Simply obtaining a business name registration (BN), or even a company registration (ACN), by itself provides no protection under the law.
justweb® & justSEO are REGISTERED trademarks and thus permitted to show the ® symbol next to both names. This may also be denoted by displaying a ™ symbol or simply an asterisk (*), where the asterisk links to further information elsewhere on the page, such as in this example of our statutory law rights.
The most cost-effective way to protect your trading name, or even a product or service brand, is to go through the trademark registration process. A trademark costs more than an Australia-wide business name registration or even company incorporation in most cases, but you get much more for your money.
The benefits of trademark registration include:
- protection under Australia-wide law under the Trade Mark Act
- adding credibility to the name of your business, product or service
- warning others against trading off your name or brand
- legal fees and IP Australia fees for registration are tax deductible
You can do the registration yourself, either online or by posting a completed form to IP Australia.
However, if you are not a specialist intellectual property lawyer there are many important things you are likely to miss. They can hold up your application, give you less protection than you think you are getting, and more often than not leave loopholes for someone to register a closely competitive trade mark. This I know from experience.
For professional information about protecting your brand, please contact:
Dilanchian Lawyers & Consultants
Suite 302, Level 3, 105 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
Tel (02) 9269 0229
Email: noricd@dilanchian.com.au
Web: www.dilanchian.com.au
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
