A registered trade mark under the Trade Marks Act 1995 gives you the exclusive legal right to use, licence or sell your goods or services in Australia. It distinguishes your goods and services from others in the marketplace. A trade mark can be a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture, aspect of packaging or any combination of these.

Anyone who claims to be the owner of a trade mark can apply for registration of that trade mark. The registration period is initially for 10 years and continues indefinitely as long as the renewal fees are paid every ten years. However, it is important that you use your trade mark - other applicants can apply to have your trade mark deregistered if you have not used it for more than three years.

Remember that registration of a business name does not in itself give you any proprietary rights. If you require exclusive use of your business name, you should consider registering it as a trade mark.