How to Protect Your Business Name From Competitors Using It
Angus
We all understand the value of a company’s brand. Good businesses invest a lot of time (and money) into developing a memorable business name and brand image. Likewise, if you make the right moves, your brand may be able to stand out from the crowd. Indeed, protecting your business name from competitors using it is key to safeguarding your reputation in the market. This article will explore some key considerations to protect your business name.
Know the Difference Between a Trade Mark and Business Name Registration
Some business owners believe that registering their business name protects them from others utilising their name, product or service, or other parts of their brand. Regrettably, this is not the case. When you register your business name, you do so through the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and receive a unique Australian Business Number (ABN). Likewise, registering a business name is crucial if you conduct business under a name other than your own.
While registering your business name places some limits on other firms using your name, ASIC does not enforce your trade mark rights. Unfortunately, without formal registrations of your trade mark, it is technically lawful for another business to use a similar business name.
The easiest way to think about these two processes is that trade mark registration and business name registration serve distinct objectives. Regarding the latter, it is a legal requirement to register your business name, allowing you to trade. Importantly, it does not grant you complete legal ownership of that name. Registering a trademark, on the other hand, legally protects your name or other characteristics of your brand, like your logo. Further, a registered trade mark allows you to enforce your rights and prevents others from using with it without your permission.
Register a Trade Mark
You must register your business name as a trade mark with IP Australia to get exclusive rights to it. Registering your company, name, or domain name with ASIC does not give you exclusive rights to use it.
A registered trade mark gives you – and only you – the right to use, lease, and sell the related intellectual property under the Trade Marks Act. This protection is valid for a term of ten years in all Australian states and territories. Likewise, you have the option to renew your trade mark if necessary. If you wish to extend your rights across borders, you will need to file for the trade mark in other countries.
Importantly, you must actively use your registered trade mark. If not, you risk a third party requesting that your trade mark be deregistered if there is proof that you have not used your trade mark in three years.
Ultimately, to avoid legal issues or imitation, it is a good idea to register your business name as a trade mark to receive the most protection.
Register Your Business Name With ASIC
As mentioned, ASIC is in charge of company name registration and management. Likewise, they manage and oversee guidelines for what kind of business names they will accept. By registering your business name, you are preventing other companies from registering names that are similar or substantially identical to yours.
However, keep in mind that ASIC does not:
- prevent the registration of identical business names;
- allow you to use any portion of the name without restriction; or
- make it impossible for someone to use a name which another person has trade marked.
Consequently, registering a business name that is confusingly close to an existing trademark might get you into legal problems. This is why it is important to conduct due diligence before registering a business name and likewise applying for a trade mark over it.
Trade Mark Your Domain Name
Additionally, your website name and social media accounts are crucial to your branding. It is likely you have already taken steps to reigster these accounts and domain names.
However, beware of online trolls who are known to fool people with alternate spellings or URLs of a brand. For example, your Instagram account name for your fashion label might be @luxuryapparel. A troll might create an identical page and call it @luxury_apparel, causing confusion to your customers.
Additionally, cyber squatting is a technique in which someone purchases URLs that are identical to yours, such as .org and .net versions of your website. For example, if you own GoKarting.com, someone else might buy GoKarting.net or Go-Karting.com, or anything similar.
Accordingly, applying for a trade mark over the domain names your business uses is critical to ensuring the strongest protection against others who use your business name or something similar, whether they are aware of the infringment or not.
Key Takeaways
Registering your business name under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is a requirement if you are trading by a name other than your own. However, if you want to protect your business name from competitors, there are further steps you can take. Besides ASIC registration, consider applying for a trade mark over key elements of your business, including your:
- business name;
- domain name;
- logo;
- slogan;
- brand colours; or
- a combination of these.
Ultimately, having protection under trade mark law will help you to protect your business from dishonest businesses taking advantage of the goodwill you have built up in your business name. For more information about how to protect your business name from competitors using it, contact our experienced IP lawyers on 1300 657 423.
Frequently Asked Questions
You must register your business name as a trade mark to get exclusive rights to use, sell or license your trade mark.
Your website name and social media accounts are crucial to your branding. Likewise, for the greatest protection, it is best to trade mark these names.