Business Insights

What rights and benefits do you have with a trade mark registration

February 21, 2023

A trade mark is a badge of origin that distinguishes goods or services from those of other traders operating in the same industry and a registered trade mark gives owners exclusive and legally enforceable rights to use, license, or sell that mark.

Without protection by way of trade mark registration, a brand or business is vulnerable to many different things including attack from competitors, consumer confusion, erosion of brand equity, and reputational damage. Essentially, trade mark registration is the most powerful way of protecting your valuable business asset.

This article discusses the rights and benefits that trade mark registration gives you.

What rights give you a trade mark registration

The owner who registers the business name or brand as a trade mark may have the following rights.

Legally enforceable and rights to use that registered mark for the nominated goods and/or services

The right to prevent any other party from using a similar brand or business name on goods or services that are similar where such use amounts to trade mark infringement

The right to take steps against any other entity that is infringing your rights (you can institute legal proceedings against another trader if they are deemed to have infringed your trade mark)

The right to transfer, license, or sell the mark

This last point is an important one. That’s because a registered trade mark is a tradeable asset and it can be sold, licensed, or transferred to another party or parties. If that mark has attained significant goodwill and a strong reputation, it can be a valuable and lucrative asset for the trade mark owner. However, registering a trade mark not only puts a ring of steel around that asset, but it can also add much value to it.

Benefits of a trade mark registration

Here are some of the benefits you can have if you register your trade mark.

The right to use is immediate

After you register that trade mark, your rights to use that mark in relation to the nominated goods/services are in force.

It will be found in the trademark database

A registered trade mark is listed on a searchable database managed by IP Australia, so it serves as a clear signpost on your ownership and monopoly over it. The database also serves as a public record of when your statutory rights began. (Noting some business operators may have earlier dated common law rights).

You can use it everywhere

Registering a trade mark gives you peace-of-mind that you can use that mark everywhere without fear of infringing on anyone’s rights.

It protects you from the competition

Registration serves as a powerful deterrent to anti-competitive, copycat, or unethical behavior, and also provides protection Australia-wide.

Brand awareness

Registration provides a strong foundation and scaffolding for building brand awareness and reputation.

The right to use the symbol

Registration gives you the legal right to use the ® symbol next to your trade mark. You can use the ™ symbol next to a mark even if that mark hasn’t been registered, but this doesn’t prove any legal rights and rights and it can be difficult and expensive to prove ownership. It’s an offense to use the ® symbol alongside an unregistered mark.

Conclusion

A trade mark registration gives you the proprietary right to use, sell or license that mark and is a powerful strategy for protecting your business’s valuable intellectual property and protecting the viability and future success of that asset and of the business as a whole.

Registration is both a shield and a sword – providing a solid defense and powerful weaponry against anyone who may deliberately or inadvertently infringe on your rights.

However, it’s possible to register a trade mark on your own, but it’s recommended that you get advice from an experienced professional (either an intellectual property lawyer or trade mark attorney) so that the decisions you make are the correct ones.