What should you do if you find that somebody is using your registered trademark? First, you should check that your trademark is still valid. Sometimes people think they have a valid trademark, but it’s actually lapsed because they’ve forgotten to pay registration or renewal fees. Second, do you actually Read more…
When the time comes to sell your business, who will own your trademark? It depends who currently owns your trademark. Do you have it registered? If you do, whose name is it registered in? Is it in your personal name or Is it in the company’s name? If you’re selling Read more…
Can you file a trademark registration which includes a well-known saying? You can file it, but it’s unlikely to be granted. For example the saying “keep calm and carry on.” If you’ve put that into any trademark application, it’s very likely you’re not going to be able to get a Read more…
So you want to trade under a particular brand name in Australia, and you’ve done a trademark search in Australia and you’re confident that your use is not going to infringe somebody’s trademark in Australia. Does that mean that you should just go ahead and use it and you don’t Read more…
What should you do if you’ve got an incredible brand name, which nobody else has used before and now suddenly because you’ve been using it, people are popping up all over the place using your brand name. If you’ve got a unique name, the first thing you should be doing Read more…
So you have a business name registered, you might even have a domain name registered, or a company name, but does that mean you’re safe from trademark infringement? Unfortunately the answer is no. Trademark registration is the superpower of all of the registrations, so it doesn’t matter which ones Read more…
When you file a trademark, should you file it in your personal name, or in the name of your company? If you’re a sole trader it doesn’t matter, because you don’t have a company, but if you do have a company, which is best? Well, the reason you have Read more…
What actually is a trademark and how’s it different from a brand? How’s it different from a logo? What do people mean when they say trademark? Usually when people say trademark, they mean the trademark that is registered on a trademarks register. Trademarks register is run by a government Read more…
If you have more than one business owner and the business splits, who then owns the trademarks? Well, it’s an interesting question and it really depends on the situation, it depends on the agreement that you have come to. If you have, from the very beginning, created an exit agreement, Read more…
Many business owners create online courses and online programs, the question is should you protect these with trademark registrations? You might be a business coach, and as part of your package, you might sell an online course to help people grow their confidence. Or you might be a mechanic, and Read more…