4 Ways Trade Marks Can Benefit Your Company
George Raptis
A company’s intellectual property can be one of its most valuable assets. Therefore, it is worth considering how your company might protect its intellectual property via registered trade marks. A registered trade mark protects the features of your company that make it distinguishable from others in the industry. This can include your company name, logo or slogan. Ultimately, business owners can benefit greatly from the exclusive rights registered trade marks provide them with. This article outlines four ways trade marks can benefit your company.
Preventing Trade Mark Infringement
Trade mark owners gain the exclusive right to use, licence and sell their mark upon trade mark registration. This means that you have the legal right to stop someone from copying or misusing your registered trade mark.
Trade mark infringement occurs when someone uses a similar or identical sign to your own trade mark in relation to similar goods and services provided by your business. For example, a small tech company that sells smartphones using the Apple logo would be infringing on Apple Inc.’s trade mark rights.
If someone commits trade mark infringement resulting in your company suffering loss, you may also pursue legal remedies to get compensation. Therefore, registered trade marks are a great way to protect your company from competitors seeking to take advantage of its reputation.
Protecting Your Company Name
Business owners often think that once they register their company name with ASIC, only their company can use that name. This is only partially right. It is true that once a company name is registered with ASIC, another company cannot register a business under the same name. However, business name registration does not prevent other companies from using your business name in other ways, such as when marketing their own goods and services.
This is because one of the main purposes of business name registration is to ensure that ASIC, other businesses, and consumers can identify your business. On the other hand, the purpose of trade mark registration is to give you the exclusive rights to use your mark, whether that is your company name or logo. Thus, you should consider protecting your registered business name via trade mark.
Building Your Company’s Brand Recognition
The goodwill of a business and its reputation are typically associated with a single logo, word or phrase. The Golden Arches and the half-eaten Apple are among the many signs which consumers instantly recognise as being associated with McDonald’s® and Apple Inc. respectively.
Once you ensure that your company name or logo is protected under trade mark law, your company will have greater freedom to market its goods and services using its distinctive mark. If you continuously use your company name and logo, you can build your company’s brand recognition within the market and reap the commercial benefits.
Greater Commercial Opportunities For Your Company
Apart from being able to use your registered trade mark for marketing your company’s goods and services, you can also licence your mark and eventually sell it.
Licensing
Trade mark licensing is typically used by companies when they wish to franchise their business. Licensing your registered trade mark involves you (the licensor) granting another person or company (the licensee) the right to use your trade mark. The rights you grant entirely depend on what you and the licensee have negotiated in the terms of your licensing agreement. A licensing agreement can cover:
- the licensing period in which the licensee can use your trade mark;
- how the licensee can use your trade mark during this time;
- the geographical limits in which the licensee can use your trade mark; and
- any agreed royalty or licensing fees.
By licensing your trade mark, you can allow your business to tap into an additional stream of income.
Selling Your Trade Mark
The value of your intellectual property will also be significant when you are selling your company. Typically, the value of your registered trade mark will reflect the goodwill of your business. In other words, the greater reputation your business has, the higher in value your trade marks will be. Trade marks are some of the most valuable assets a business can own and can be a valuable bargaining chip when eventually negotiating the sale of your company.
Key Takeaways
A registered trade mark provides you with the exclusive rights to use, licence and sell your business. Your company can benefit significantly from a registered trade mark since it:
- allows you to enforce your rights if someone copies or misuses your trade mark;
- may give you the exclusive right to use your registered business name;
- helps build your company’s brand recognition; and
- opens up commercial opportunities for your company through licensing and selling your trade mark.
If you need help with completing your trade mark application, our experienced trade mark lawyers can assist. Call us on 1300 657 423 or complete the form on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cost for a standard trade mark application is $250 per class of goods and services included. However, additional costs such as legal fees will differ across the board.
An unregistered trade mark is a sign that has gained enough of a reputation in the market that people associate it with your business. However, it is more difficult to prove your rights with an unregistered trade mark than a registered trade mark that IP Australia has already approved.