Apply for Your Trademark

A trademark is a sign used to distinguish your business’ goods and services from those of competitors. Registering a trademark gives you exclusive rights to use a ‘sign’, which could be: letters, numbers, words, phrases, sounds, smells, shapes, logos, pictures, aspects of packaging, or a combination of any of these things. It could even be a colour - for example, Cadbury’s iconic purple colour is trademarked.

• Legal protection.
• By trademarking a sign unique to your business, you receive an exclusive right to the use of that sign. That means you are able to take legal action against anyone who infringes on that right by using that sign without your approval.
  • To prevent competitors of your business from claiming the rights to your business name, logo, or slogan.
  • Protecting your unique brand and the goodwill associated with it.
  • Protecting your rights as a business owner so no other competitor can diminish or dilute your quality of products or services.
  • Stop competitors from using or misappropriating not only your very same business name or logo, but also anything that is confusingly similar to your business name and logo.
• If you choose to, having the exclusive right to the use of a sign also means that you are able to license the right to someone else. For example, if you trademarked a shade of blue, and was approached by another company for the use of that colour, you can license them the right to use it, at a fee. Talk about doing business!
• Further, by registering for a trademark, you ensure that the use of that sign does not infringe on anyone’s rights. This prevents any potential legal consequences from creeping up on you, even though you have good intentions from the start.
• Growing your business.
• Registering a trademark for your business goes beyond just legal protection. It is also strong marketing tool, distinguishing your products and/or services from the rest of the market.
• Your business is special in a way that sets you apart from the rest. It could be due to the quality of your products, the efficiency of your service, or the creativity of your design, among other things. As your reputation grows, your brand grows, and if the differentiating factor of your business is not protected, your competitor might just ride the wave of success and leave you strangling by imitating you.
• Having a trademark allows you to effectively and efficiently communicate your brand to your customers, especially in a crowded marketplace. By associating your business with a particular ‘sign’, you become instantly recognisable. Think about the Nike ‘swoosh’, and Apple’s, well, apple.
• Ease and Simplicity - Our trademark process is an easy to use process to obtain an invaluable asset for your business.

Applying for a trademark through LawPath takes under 5 minutes and couldn’t be easier.

Our registered trademark attorneys then review your application and give you an indication of registrability within 5 days. The application is then submitted to the government for review. This process is standard for all Australian trademark applications and usually takes about 7.5 months. Once officially registered you will receive a registration certificate and your trademark is then registered to you for 10 years.

Before you go through your application process you will need:

The word or logo you wish to trademark.

• Make sure that the word or logo you wish to trademark is suitable for use, it must be distinctive so as to be able to differentiate your goods or service from a competitors or it may be rejected.

Your goods and services for your trademark

• You must specify the goods and services that your trademark is or will be used for, e.g shoes. There is no limit to the number of goods and services or classes that you can select.

Applicant’s details:

• Applicant’s name: owner’s name or company name.
• Applicant’s address.

Contact details:

• Authorised person for the trademark.
• Telephone.
• Email.