A trade mark does not need to be registered in order to create rights under common law. \u00a0However, registration can significantly improve the certainty of ownership and legal rights in a trade mark and provide certain other benefits including that you are granted a monopoly right to the use of the trade mark for the goods and services it is registered in respect of, for a (renewable) period of 10 years within Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Should I register a word trade mark or my logo<\/strong>?<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There is a difference in protection in obtaining a\u00a0word\u00a0<\/em>trade mark compared to a\u00a0logo<\/em>\u00a0trade mark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n A\u00a0word\u00a0<\/em>trade mark\u00a0provides the owner\u00a0with the monopoly right in Australia to use that trade mark (in relation to the goods and services it\u00a0is registered\u00a0in respect of)\u00a0in any font or style. You are not limited to using it only\u00a0in the current font or style you are\u00a0using\u00a0and other traders are prevented at law from using\u00a0that word\/phrase as a trade mark in relation to similar goods or services.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you are\u00a0located overseas\u00a0and\u00a0you are relying on an Australian trade mark\u00a0to satisfy the \u201cAustralian presence test\u201d\u00a0for\u00a0a\u00a0.com.au\u00a0or\u00a0a .net.au\u00a0domain name,\u00a0then\u00a0you will need a registered\u00a0word\u00a0<\/em>trade mark\u00a0that is an exact match to the words of that\u00a0domain name.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you have a logo<\/em> version of your trade mark registered, then your protection under trade mark\u00a0law is limited to using that particular\u00a0logo version of the trade mark\u00a0as applied for, and other\u00a0traders are prevented at law from only using a trade mark that looks similar\u00a0to that logo<\/em> version, in relation to similar goods or services.\u00a0A\u00a0log<\/em>o <\/em>trade mark provides\u00a0useful protection where your logo is highly distinctive and other traders\u00a0imitate the \u2018look\u2019 of the logo, but not the actual words.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n You\u00a0should also\u00a0think about\u00a0how your customers are engaging with you. If you have an app, then\u00a0you should consider applying for a logo<\/em> application for your app version of your trade mark.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n