Thought of registering a trademark for your new business?
The ATO has issued a reminder around trademarks!
For background, a trademark legally protects your brand and helps customers distinguish your products or services in the market from others. Trademarks can be used to protect a logo, phrase, word, letter, colour, sound, smell, picture, movement, aspect of packaging or any combination of these. In short, they protect your brand, products and services.
Trademarks are different from a business name which is the name you trade under.
For exclusive rights to your business name, you'll need to protect it with a trademark. This will help you:
protect your name and stop others from trading with it
get exclusive use of that trademark throughout Australia
have protection in all Australian states and territories for an initial period of ten years.
Trademarks are intellectual property. Other types of intellectual property include:
patents
design rights
plant breeder’s rights
copyright
trade secrets.
While you don’t need a registered trademark to apply for an ABN, registering a trademark for your business name, logo, or other sign means you have exclusive rights to use your trademark in Australia.
A registered trademark is a licensable and saleable asset. It also provides a legal avenue to stop others from using it on similar goods and services. A 5-minute check can help save you a lot of disappointment and work.
Check out IP Australia for more information and get your trademark sorted today.
The same ATO release, reminds taxpayers of the business registrations and insurances that may be required for your new business.
As a new business, you may also need to:
register for goods and services tax (GST)
register for pay as you go (PAYG) withholding and meet your super obligations for any employees you hire
register for fringe benefits tax (FBT) when you are providing fringe benefits to your employees.
You can apply for an ABN and other key business registrations through the Business Registration Service.
You may also need business insurance and licences to protect your business. It's important to understand the licences and permits you need to do certain activities and help protect your business and employees.
PR Jennings Pty Ltd – Accountants Mornington - Ph 5975 5183
Disclaimer: All information provided in this article is of a general nature only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Also, changes in legislation may occur frequently. We recommend that our formal advice be obtained before acting on the basis of this information.
Please note we at PR Jennings Pty Ltd are not licensed to provide financial product advice under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)and taxation is only one of the matters that must be considered when making a decision on a financial product, including on whether to make superannuation contributions. You should consider taking advice from the holder of an Australian financial services licence before making a decision on a financial product.