Business name, company name, trade mark: what each one gives you

In Australia. These are the Australian registers: ASIC for business and company names, IP Australia for trade marks and auDA's rules for .au domains. US and UK registrations do not carry over.

What each registration gives you

Business name	ASIC. Lets you trade under the name. No exclusive rights
Company name	ASIC. Creates a legal entity with an ACN. No exclusive rights in the words
Trade mark	IP Australia. Exclusive rights in the classes registered
Domain name	a registrar, under auDA's rules for .au. Held while you pay, no rights in the words
Copyright in a logo	automatic on creation, stays with the creator unless assigned in writing

Registering a business name feels like claiming a name. It is not. Here is what each registration does, and what only one of them protects.

What is the difference between a business name, a company name, a trade mark and a domain?

They are four different registrations held by different bodies, and only a registered trade mark stops a competitor using the name. People say "I registered the name" and can mean any of the four.

A business name (ASIC)

A business name registration lets you trade under a name that is not your own. If you are a sole trader called Jane Ellis and you want to trade as Ellis Joinery, you register Ellis Joinery as a business name. It is administered by ASIC, on the Business Names Register, and it is tied to an ABN.

What it does not do is the part that surprises people. It gives you no ownership of the name and no exclusive right to it. ASIC will refuse a name identical to an existing registration, but similar names sit side by side on the register constantly. A business name registration will not stop a business two suburbs away using the same trading name, and it will not stop a registered trade mark owner requiring you to stop using yours.

A company name (ASIC)

Registering a company creates a separate legal entity with an ACN. The company name is reserved in the sense that ASIC will not register an identical one, but again this is a register of entities, not a grant of exclusive commercial rights in the words.

A company can also register business names, and often does, so that the entity and the trading name differ.

A trade mark (IP Australia)

This is the one that grants exclusive rights. A registered trade mark gives the owner the exclusive right to use that mark in Australia for the goods and services in the classes it is registered in, and the right to act against others using a substantially identical or deceptively similar mark on similar goods.

Two things about it matter for a small business:

• It is class-based. Registration is made under the international classification of goods and services, of which IP Australia says there are currently 45. Registering a cafe name for cafe services does not stop somebody using the same word for accounting software. Each additional class costs an additional fee.
• It can cover a word, a logo, or both. A word mark protects the name in any typeface, which is usually the stronger protection. A logo mark protects that specific artwork. Businesses often register the word first and the logo later, if at all.

Applications are examined, published for opposition, and take months rather than days. IP Australia publishes current fees and timeframes on its own site, and both change, so check the schedule there rather than trusting a figure in an article. IP Australia also runs an assessment service that gives you an examiner's opinion before you file, which is worth knowing about if you are unsure whether your name is registrable at all.

A domain name (auDA and registrars)

A domain is a rental, not a right. Registering ellisjoinery.com.au means you hold that address while you keep paying for it and continue to meet the eligibility rules for the namespace. It confers nothing over the words themselves. Somebody with a registered trade mark can act against a domain that infringes it.

Who owns the copyright in a logo?

The person who created it, unless the copyright is assigned in writing. Copyright in a logo exists automatically from the moment the artwork is created. There is no registration for copyright in Australia and no form to file. But copyright in a commissioned work does not automatically belong to the person who paid for it. Unless the agreement says otherwise, it typically sits with the creator, which is why an assignment or a licence in writing matters when you commission design work.

This is worth reading your paperwork over. "You own the logo" in a designer's email is not the same as an assignment of copyright, and the difference surfaces years later when you want to change it, licence it, or stop somebody else using it.

When you buy a template from us, the licence is written down: the files are yours to use for your business, including commercially, with no ongoing fee, and you cannot resell the template itself. That licence is deliberately not an exclusivity claim, and the next section explains why that matters.

Can a logo template be registered as a trade mark?

Generally not as a logo mark, because a template is licensed to more than one business. That is what makes it cost what it costs. It has a direct consequence for trade marks, and anyone selling templates who does not say so is leaving you to find out later.

To register a logo as a trade mark, you generally need to be able to claim it as yours to use as a badge of origin. A design licensed non-exclusively to other businesses is a weak candidate for a logo trade mark, because you are not the only party entitled to use that artwork.

What this does not affect is your name. A word mark covers the words regardless of the typeface they are set in, and your business name is yours whether the lockup around it came from a template or a studio. For most small businesses the word mark is the protection worth having anyway.

So: if registering the logo artwork itself as a trade mark is central to your plans, commission original work and take an assignment of copyright with it. That is a case where we are the wrong choice, and it is a reasonable thing to want.

In what order should a new business register things?

Search first, then get the ABN and the business name, take the domain, and decide about a trade mark separately.

1. Search before you commit. Check the ASIC business names register, search IP Australia's trade marks database, and do a plain web search. A name already registered as a trade mark in your class is a name to walk away from, however good it is.
2. Get the ABN, and register the business name if you are trading under something other than your own name.
3. Take the domain early, because they go.
4. Decide about a trade mark separately and deliberately. It costs real money per class and it is worth it when the name is the asset. It is not compulsory and plenty of good businesses never file one.
5. If you commission a logo, get the copyright position in writing at the time, not later.

Where can you check a name before registering it?

ASIC, IP Australia and the Australian Business Register all publish free registers you can search.

• ASIC holds the business names register and the companies register.
• IP Australia holds the trade marks register and publishes the classes, the fees and the search tools.
• The Australian Business Register holds ABN and entity details, and is free to search.

All three are public and free to search, and half an hour in them before you print anything is the cheapest insurance in this list.

One closing caveat, meant seriously: this is general information, not legal advice. Trade mark disputes turn on specifics, and if a name matters enough to fight over it is worth an hour with a trade marks attorney before you file rather than after somebody objects.

Common questions

Does registering a business name stop someone else using it?

No. An ASIC business name registration lets you trade under that name and gives you no exclusive rights to it. ASIC will refuse an identical registration, but similar names sit on the register side by side. A registered trade mark is the registration that grants exclusive rights.

Do I need a trade mark for my logo?

Not necessarily. A trade mark is worth it when the name itself is the asset you would defend, and it costs a fee per class of goods and services. Many small businesses never register one. If you do register, a word mark covering the name is usually the stronger protection, because it applies whatever typeface the name is set in.

Can I trade mark a logo I bought as a template?

It is a weak candidate, and we would rather say so. A template is licensed to more than one business, so you are not the only party entitled to use that artwork, which undermines a claim to it as a badge of origin. Your business name is a different matter and can generally still be registered as a word mark. If registering the artwork matters to you, commission original work and take an assignment of copyright.

Who owns the copyright in a logo I paid a designer for?

Unless your agreement says otherwise, it typically remains with the creator rather than passing to whoever paid. That is why an assignment or a written licence matters at the time of commissioning. Copyright itself is automatic on creation and there is no register for it in Australia.

Is a domain name the same as owning the name?

No. A domain is a rental you hold while you keep paying and keep meeting the eligibility rules. It gives you no rights over the words, and a registered trade mark owner can act against a domain that infringes their mark.