Trademark, business name and domain: what each one protects

Plenty of people launch a business, register the name, buy the matching domain and assume the name is now theirs in every sense. It is closer to three separate keys that open three separate doors. Each is held with a different body, each lasts for a different length of time, and each needs renewing on its own schedule.

What each one actually does

A registered business name is a record with ASIC. It says you are trading under that name and ties it to your ABN. It does not give you ownership of the words, and it does not stop someone else using a similar name in another state or a different industry. ASIC will not register a name that is identical to one already on its register, but that is as far as it goes. We register business names for one or three years, and the renewal is done by searching the name in our renewal box.

A domain name is a licence to use an address on the internet, and it runs for a set term. A .com.au is issued to a business with an Australian connection. Holding the domain stops anyone else using that exact address, but not a close variation of it, and it says nothing about who owns the brand.

A trademark is the only one of the three that protects the name or logo as a brand. It is registered with IP Australia, in the categories of goods or services you trade in, and it lets you stop others using a confusingly similar mark for those goods or services. If you rely on the name to win customers, this is the one that protects the thing you have built.

Registered Australian trademarks last ten years from the filing date, then need renewing. That is a very different rhythm to a business name that renews every one or three years, or a domain that renews on its own term.

Why they go together

Because the three are separate, it is easy for them to drift apart. Common examples are a business name registered by a company while the trademark sits in the founder's personal name, or a domain registered years ago through a web developer who has since moved on. The details on file for each need to match who actually runs the business, since that is where the reminders go.

Before you spend on signs, packaging or advertising, it is worth checking all three. Search the name against the business names on the register, look for the domain, and run a search on the IP Australia trademark search to see whether anyone already has a similar mark. Whether a name is safe to register as a trademark is a question for a trademark attorney, as we do not give legal advice.

We look after the renewals for all three. A business name is renewed by searching the name in our renewal box, choosing one or three years and paying, with the ASIC renewal fee included. A domain is renewed from your Registry dashboard, and we register and transfer .com.au, .au and .com names. A trademark is renewed by searching for it on our site, selecting it and paying, and we handle the renewal with IP Australia. If a letter from us turns up first, it has a QR code and a reference number on it, so you scan the code or type the number in and pay. Having all three with one team means one place to check what is due. Our team can help you work out which renewals are coming up on 1300 070 000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Melbourne time.