Building a Brand?
Best to own it!
Most talk of “building your
brand” properly focuses on
marketing issues. Sometimes,
what gets overlooked
are the legal processes available to protect
a brand.
Business owners – and their advisors
– are good at fulfilling their legal
obligations around the registration of
corporate names and business names.
Where they often fall down is in actually
protecting their brands.
It should be noted that the requirement
to register under legislation like
The Business Names Registration Act or
The Corporations Act is not intended to
confer rights on the owner. These statutes
are intended to protect the public
so, if something goes wrong, the public
knows who to pursue.
Savvy business owners know that
the protection of their brand – preventing
others from selling the same or
similar goods or services under a confusingly
similar brand name or logo – is
best achieved through the registration
of a trademark.
By Steven Z. Raber, Fillmore Riley LLP
LEGAL
ILLUSTRATION: MAGIC PICTURES/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
PHOTO COURTESY OF FILLMORE RILEY LLP
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