Business & commercial

Trade mark lawyers in Victoria.

Registering a business name or a domain gives you no rights to your brand. CMK Legal handles trade mark searches, applications, oppositions and enforcement for Victorian businesses, so the name you have built is one you actually own.

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Solicitor-drafted

Searches and applications handled by a solicitor with the enforcement position in mind.

Practical timeframes

Clearance searches returned promptly; applications filed the same week.

Fixed fee, quoted first

Fixed fee per mark per class, with IP Australia fees quoted separately.

Australian commercial law

Trade Marks Act 1995, ACL and passing off.

What trade mark protection gives you.

A registered trade mark is a monopoly right to use a sign, a word, logo, shape, sound or colour, in relation to the goods and services it is registered for. It lasts ten years and can be renewed indefinitely. Crucially, an ASIC business name registration, a company name and a domain name give you none of this; they are administrative registrations that do not stop anyone else using the name.

Registration is handled by IP Australia. Applications are examined against absolute grounds, whether the mark is distinctive rather than merely descriptive of the goods or services, and relative grounds, whether it is substantially identical or deceptively similar to an earlier mark for similar goods or services. Goods and services are grouped into 45 classes, and choosing the right classes at filing is one of the most consequential decisions in the process, because they cannot be broadened later.

Once accepted, the mark is advertised for a two-month opposition period, then registered. Enforcement is by infringement action under the Trade Marks Act, supported where useful by the Australian Consumer Law's misleading conduct provisions and the tort of passing off. A registration can also be removed for non-use if it is not used for a continuous three-year period.

Search before you launch. Rebranding after a letter of demand costs many multiples of what a clearance search and application would have cost before you printed the signage.

Where we help.

Clearance searches before you commit

Searches of the Australian register, business names, company names and domains to identify conflicts before you invest in branding, packaging and signage.

Applications and class strategy

Choosing the right classes and specification, broad enough to protect your growth, specific enough to survive examination and a non-use challenge, and filing and prosecuting the application.

Adverse reports and oppositions

Responding to examiner objections on distinctiveness or prior marks, arguing honest concurrent use or prior use, negotiating coexistence agreements, and running or defending oppositions.

Enforcement and portfolio management

Letters of demand, infringement proceedings, domain and platform takedowns, licensing and assignment on a business sale, and renewal and watch monitoring.

You should register if.

  • You are launching a new business, product or brand name
  • You have only registered a business name or a domain
  • You are investing in signage, packaging or a marketing campaign
  • Someone else has started trading under a similar name
  • You have received a letter of demand about your brand
  • You are franchising or licensing your brand to others
  • You are selling the business and the brand is part of the value
  • You are expanding interstate or overseas

Trade mark rights in Australia flow primarily from registration and use. Filing early is usually the cheapest protection a growing business can buy.

How a trade mark matter runs.

  1. 01

    Search and advice

    A clearance search and a view on registrability, conflicts and the risk of proceeding with the mark.

  2. 02

    Class strategy

    We settle the goods and services specification and the classes to file in, balancing coverage against cost.

  3. 03

    Filing

    The application is filed with IP Australia and monitored through examination.

  4. 04

    Examination and acceptance

    Any adverse report answered with submissions or evidence, and amendments negotiated where needed.

  5. 05

    Registration and enforcement

    Registration issued after the opposition period, renewals diarised, and infringements pursued as they arise.

Transparent trade mark fees.

Clearance searches and applications are fixed fee per mark, per class, quoted before we start. IP Australia filing and registration fees are separate government charges and are disclosed at the outset. Responding to adverse reports, oppositions and enforcement work is estimated before each stage.

Request a fixed-fee quote

FAQs

Trade mark FAQs.

Still unsure? Call us on (03) 9008 7224 and speak to a lawyer, not a call centre.

Isn't my business name already protected?
No. A business name registration with ASIC only allows you to trade under that name; it gives no exclusive rights and will not stop a competitor using it, or stop a trade mark owner forcing you to stop. The same applies to company names and domain names.
How long does registration take?
Usually around seven to twelve months from filing to registration if there are no objections, examination takes a few months, and there is a two-month opposition period after acceptance. Protection, once granted, dates back to the filing date.
What can't be registered?
Marks that are not distinctive, purely descriptive words, laudatory terms, common surnames and geographic names, and marks that are substantially identical or deceptively similar to an earlier mark for similar goods or services. Distinctiveness objections can sometimes be overcome with evidence of extensive prior use.
Should I register the word or the logo?
Where budget allows, both. A word mark protects the name in any styling and is generally the stronger right. A logo mark protects the specific visual presentation and can occasionally be registered where the word alone is too descriptive.
Does an Australian registration protect me overseas?
No. Trade mark rights are territorial. Overseas protection requires national filings or an international application through the Madrid Protocol, which can claim priority from your Australian filing if made within six months.
Someone is using my brand. What can I do?
If you hold a registration, you can sue for infringement and seek injunctions, damages or an account of profits. Even unregistered, you may have claims in passing off and under the Australian Consumer Law for misleading conduct, though these are harder and more expensive to prove.
Can I sell or assign an unregistered trade mark?
Not on its own. The right to register an unregistered trade mark cannot be assigned, so where a brand you are selling or restructuring has not been registered, the usual course is to register the mark first and then assign the registration. It is a gap that often surfaces on a business sale, when the buyer expects to receive a brand the seller never actually secured.

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