Your brand is usually the only part of your business that gets more valuable the longer you use it. A registered trademark is what stops someone else from taking it.
I'm Warren Wong. I run IP Savvy, and I file and manage trademarks for Australian businesses, from the first application through to registration and beyond. No hourly rates, no billing targets, and no charge for the routine reporting that most firms invoice separately.
Trademark services for Australian businesses
Warren's work with us was first class. He helped us navigate a difficult trade mark application process with the utmost clarity and professionalism. Warren went above and beyond to help us get what we required. Very knowledgeable, prompt and easy to deal with - you won't find a better IP lawyer. Thanks Warren!
- Alex Newell
Written by Warren Wong
Registered Australian and New Zealand Patent Attorney and Trade Marks Attorney.
Where should you start?
Most people arrive at one of four points. Pick the one that sounds like you.
You have a name in mind but haven't committed.
You want to know whether you can use it, and whether you can register it. Those are two different questions and the free databases only answer part of one of them.
→ Choosing a trademarkYou've settled on the brand and want it protected.
You need the application drafted properly, covering the right goods and services, in the right owner's name.
→ Trademark applicationsYou've had an adverse examination report.
An objection has been raised, there's a deadline, and you may have filed the application yourself.
→ Overcoming objectionsYou're selling overseas, or about to.
Your Australian trademark registration stops at the border.
→ International applications.
If none of these sound like you, book a call and we'll work out what you actually need.
What a registered trademark gives you
A trademark is a sign that distinguishes your goods or services from everyone else's. It can be a word, a logo, a phrase, a shape, and in narrow cases a sound or a colour.
Registration gives you the exclusive right to use that mark in Australia for the goods and services it covers. That right is property. You can licence it, franchise it, sell it, or use it as security. It's also the thing that makes enforcement practical, because you're pointing at a registration rather than arguing about a commercial reputation that is harder (and more costly) to define and prove.
Crucially, registering a business name with ASIC, in and of itself, gives you no such rights in the name at all. Nor does registering a company, or buying the domain. Those are administrative registrations. They don't stop a competitor from registering your name as a trademark and then asking you to stop using it.
How the process runs (in Australia)
Filing. The application sets out the mark, the owner, and the goods and services you want covered. The date you file is the date your priority runs from and this can be a crucial detail later down the track.
Examination. IP Australia examines the application and either accepts it or issues an adverse report raising objections. The two you'll see most often are that the mark isn't distinctive enough, or that it's too close to something already on the register.
Responding. If an adverse report issues, you have a window to get the application accepted. Missing it means the application lapses and you start again, at a later priority date, behind anyone who filed in the meantime.
Acceptance and opposition. After acceptance of a trademark application is advertised, third parties have a two month window to oppose registration of the trademark. Oppositions are rare and the vast majority of accepted trademark applications proceed to registration without issue.
Registration. Registration dates back to the filing date and runs for ten years, renewable indefinitely in ten year blocks. Use it, and keep using it. A mark that sits unused becomes vulnerable to removal.
What it costs
For a straightforward application covering a single trademark class, budget for around $965 (which includes IP Australia's official fees and GST). Assuming no objections and no opposition, that's the total to get through to registration.
That figure is worth noting carefully, because it is not how most of the industry prices this work. Plenty of firms quote a filing fee and then invoice again when an adverse report issues, again when reporting acceptance, and again to report registration. I don't. If IP Australia sends me something about your matter, I tell you about it without a hefty bill.
I also don’t increase service fees based on how many trademark classes you need (another common industry practice).
Beyond registration
Renewals. Every ten years. I'll write to you well before the deadline. Letting a registration lapse is one of the few genuinely unrecoverable mistakes in this area.
Assignments and ownership changes. If the business restructures, sells, or the trademark ends up in the wrong entity's name, the register needs to reflect it. This comes up constantly and is usually simple to fix once someone notices.
Other countries. Either through the Madrid Protocol or by filing directly with local associates, depending on how many countries you need and which ones. The international applications page explains how to choose between them.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a trademark if I've registered my business name?
Yes. A business name registration is an administrative listing. It gives you no exclusive rights and it won't stop someone else registering the same name as a trademark.
How long does registration take?
A minimum of 7.5 months in Australia. Straightforward applications tend to move through without incident. Applications that attract an adverse report take longer, depending on what objections are raised and how quickly they’re addressed.
Should I register the word or the logo?
Usually the word, if the word is what customers ask for. A word mark protects the name however it's styled. A logo registration protects that particular visual. Businesses that can only afford one almost always get more out of the word.
Can I register a name that describes what I sell?
It's harder, often much harder. The more your name simply describes the goods or services, the less it works as a badge of origin, and the more likely it attracts a distinctiveness objection. There are ways through this, but it's easier to choose well at the start.
I've been using my brand for years without registering it. Am I too late?
No, and prior use can help you. But you are exposed in the meantime, and if someone else registers first you may be arguing about it from the wrong side.
Can you handle trademarks in other countries?
Yes, either through the Madrid Protocol or through associates in the relevant countries.
Where to from here?
Not sure where you stand? Book a free call with me below: