Looking to register a brand name in Australia can be a lot like the first time in the woods. Trademarking and patent laws are not really super easy to understand and comprehend, especially, for young and first-time business owners.
Fret not! We’ve got your back.
In this post, we talk about how to register a brand name, the stringent differences between a patent and a trademark, and everything else in between.
Knowing the basics right
Before we go ahead with trademarking your business, you will need to form a comprehensive idea about the things at hand. Simply put, a trademark is nothing but a particular word, image or phrase which can be used as a symbol to recognize the goods and services that you produce, manufacture, or deal with.
On the other hand, a patent is an accreditation granted to the very investor in order to pursue his manufacturing goals, use or sell out his invention. In this respect, trademarking lawyers can be of great help.
Now, it’s essential to understand that any idea, for that matter, doesn’t fructify unless it gets converted into something meaningful when you register a trademark in Australia. In essence, it stands as a symbol of an artistic creation representing a symbol for a particular design or product. In time, a trademark transforms into intellectual property and holds value.
These are a handful of basic understandings that very new business owners looking to trademark their brand needs to know and understand before taking a step forward.
Trademark Vs Patent
Now that one has a fair bit of understanding regarding patents and trademarks, it’s time you sort out the differences between them to make life easy.
Here are some stringent points of difference between patent and trademark:
- A trademark uniquely helps identify the product or services from other traders operating in the market. A patent, on the other hand, works as a monopoly coming from the government for a pre-set period to help cater to the attributes of a new invention.
- While a trademark usually applies to symbols, signs, images, and designs, a patent offers protection to the general goodwill which is associated with the trust mark, which is the brand logo itself.
- A trademark works to offer individuality to a product while a patent is generally awarded to an individual or company for a novel invention.
- Also, a trademark helps protect your brand logo that can closely resemble other logos used by other companies of similar business. In comparison, a patent works towards preventing others from using or selling a particular patented product.
- Lastly, the registration for a trademark is all the way discretionary, which means it is up to a business owner to decide whether he wants to trademark his brand. However, in comparison, the registration of patents is a mandate.
- Lastly, the duration of registration of a trademark is typically ten years compared to a patent being valid for twenty years.
So, you see, knowing the stringent differences between trademark and patent will put you on the right track for your business. As a bonus, it will also safeguard your intellectual interests and keep you protected from legal hassles.