Trademark FAQ

Firstly, and most importantly, a trade mark is an Intellectual Property Right. A trade mark is a sign used to differentiate your business from others in the marketplace who are providing goods or services similar to yours. The most common types of trademarks are brand names, logos or distinctive phrases.

At Trademark Heaven, we strongly recommend obtaining a preliminary trademark availability report for your business. This report provides several key advantages: Risk Mitigation: A preliminary search helps identify potential conflicts with existing trademarks, reducing the risk of legal disputes and costly rebranding efforts down the road. Cost Savings: Discovering conflicts early in the process can save you time and money. It allows you to adjust your branding strategy or choose a distinct trademark that is more likely to be registered. Strategic Decision-Making: Armed with information about existing trademarks, you can make informed decisions about your branding strategy, ensuring it aligns with your business goals. Trademark Viability Assessment: The report assesses the likelihood of your trademark being registered, helping you understand the strength of your proposed mark. Competitive Advantage: Securing a strong and unique trademark enhances your competitive advantage by establishing a distinct brand identity in the market. Our CEO, Mark Davis LLM, provides his experiences and knowledge and is the author of our Trademark Availability Reports. Mark will search and report on data indices relative to trademarks, such as IP Australia database, the WIPO Global Brand database, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and other internet name activities or events. The TAR is generally 4 to 6 pages and is a service costing A$90, which is considered by many as a safety net to paying the full fee for a trade mark without committing to due diligence. We find that most of our customers opt-in to the TAR. The A$90 is deducted from the full fee for the trade mark registration application should you decide to use Trademark Heaven for the registration application. The outcome of the TAR identifies if your trade mark registration application is likely to receive a positive assessment from the Examiner at IP Australia before you pay full fees.

Your business needs a trademark for several compelling reasons: Protecting Intellectual Property: A trademark safeguards your brand's intellectual property, including your business name and logo, from unauthorized use by others. Brand Recognition: It helps build brand recognition and trust among customers, making it easier for them to identify and choose your products or services. Legal Protection: A registered trademark grants you exclusive rights to use your mark in connection with your goods or services, giving you legal grounds to enforce those rights against infringing parties. Asset Value: Over time, a well-established trademark can become a valuable asset for your business, potentially increasing its worth. Expansion Opportunities: A registered trademark can facilitate business expansion by providing protection and recognition in new markets.

If your trade mark is registered, you'll receive these important protections: A business asset which becomes more valuable as your business becomes more successful; Exclusive rights to use your trade mark in Australia for an initial term of 10 years, with the ability to renew this protection indefinitely; The ability to legally deter others from using your trade mark; The ability to sell or license your trade mark to others; The legal right to place the registered trade mark symbol ® next to your trade mark. There are some important ways that a trade mark can add value to your business, according to a study by IP Australia: A business with a registered trade mark is 13% more likely to achieve high turnover growth After filing for an intellectual property (IP) right, small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are 16% more likely to experience high employment growth compared to businesses with no recent IP filings.

When you register your business name as a domain name, you secure an internet address for customers to visit. This will not prevent others from using your business or domain name as a trade mark if you do not act quickly.

When you apply for a trade mark you need to tell us what type of trade mark you need. There are different types of trademarks depending on the elements of the brand you're looking to protect. These include Colours, Logos or figurative, Moving images, non-English words, Scents, Shapes, Sounds and a Word or phrase.

A trademark registered in Australia provides protection only within the borders of Australia. It does not grant global protection. If you intend to operate or expand your business internationally, you should consider registering your trademark in each country where you plan to conduct business or have protection under international trademark treaties like the Madrid Protocol.

While there is no single global trademark registration, there are international mechanisms that simplify the process of securing trademark protection in multiple countries. The Madrid Protocol, for instance, allows you to file a single application to protect your trademark in multiple member countries. Trademark Heaven can assist you in navigating these international registration options and securing protection in the countries that matter most to your business.

Choosing Trademark Heaven to assist you with trademark registration offers numerous benefits: Expertise: We are experienced trademark practitioners with in-depth knowledge of Australian and international trademark laws and procedures. Tailored Solutions: We understand the unique needs of small businesses and can provide cost-effective, customized solutions to suit your budget. Comprehensive Services: Trademark Heaven offers end-to-end services, from preliminary searches to filing applications and managing the registration process, ensuring a hassle-free experience for you. International Reach: We can assist Australian clients in securing trademarks not only in Australia but also globally, making us a one-stop destination for your trademark needs. Risk Mitigation: Our expertise in trademark availability assessment reduces the risk of potential conflicts and increases the likelihood of successful registration. Time Savings: We streamline the registration process, saving you time and allowing you to focus on growing your business. Peace of Mind: With Trademark Heaven, you can have confidence that your brand's intellectual property is in capable hands, providing peace of mind and protection for your business. Our Trademark Heaven CEO, Mark Davis, has worked within the legal framework in Australia and other countries for many decades. Mark holds an LLM (Applied Laws), LLM (Commercial Laws), a Practising Certificate in Advanced Arbitration, an MSc (Business Intelligence) and Intellectual Property Rights in a Juris Doctor. Mark now concentrates his business knowledge and experience on Trademark Heaven and is determined to give you a safe and secure business service. Mark is more than happy to discuss the complexities of trademarking with clients directly at 0414 060 044.

Trademark Heaven provides these FAQs as an educational tool only. These FAQs are proposed from the experiences and knowledge of Trademark Heaven and the IP Australia website.

After Trademark Heaven lodges your application, a trademark Examiner will conduct an examination. If there are no issues, your trade mark is advertised on the Australian Trade Mark Register as accepted. You can continue to use your trade mark during this time, though there is a small risk of it being challenged. Anyone may oppose your trade mark within two months of it being advertised. In 2021, less than 5% of all applications to IP Australia were opposed. One reason this may happen is if your trade mark is too similar to someone else's trade mark.

Apart from deciding on your trade mark word or logo, choosing the goods and/or services classification requires some thought and is extremely important to determine the most appropriate protection for your trade asset. To get this aspect of your trade mark right, Trademark Heaven will work with you and suggest the most appropriate trade mark goods and/or services in our Trademark Availability Report. Trade marks give you legal rights specific to the goods and services you provide to your customers. This informs the scope of your protection and allows you to take action against others using your trade mark on similar goods and services. The trade mark application will be examined against the goods and/or services listed. There are 45 different “classes” which are broken down into Classes of goods 1 - 34 and Classes of services 35 - 45. The trademark classifications for your trademark application can be evaluated by Mark Davis LLM, in his TAR to you.

Trademark Heaven has developed some financial incentives for their Small to Medium Enterprises and large Corporate clients. Our CEO, Mark Davis LLM, will act as a personal trademark manager for each corporate client. He has developed a Trademark Heaven Coffee Club card where corporate clients receive a free service fee for every tenth trademark registration application submitted to IP Australia by Trademark Heaven. A part of offering a special and direct trademark manager is the invitation for you to speak with Mark directly on 0414 060 044 about trade marks. We save you time and money.