If you value your business and product names you should take steps to guard them through trademarking them.Just ask Ian McDonald formerly of McDonald's hamburgers at Rosebud Victoria. Mr McDonald has had to cease trading under his own name and change the name of his hamburger shop to avoid an expensive legal battle with the global hamburger giant McDonald's.
It's not that Mr McDonald couldn't have won his case, it's just that it was going to be expensive to fight.
"I decided not to go to court because the prospect of massive legal fees was too daunting," Mr Macdonald said.
On the other hand Malcolm McBratney decided to fight McDonalds on principle. He was using the label McBrat's on his local rugby teams' shorts as part of a sponsorship arrangement.
McDonald's had registerred the trademark McKids a few years ago in preparation for a McDonald's kids clothing line, and according to them the McBrat's logo was too similar and could cause confusion in the market.
The Federal Court ruled this week that McBratney could register and have his nickname appear as a registered trademark on his team’s shorts.
I have provided these two topical examples as an illustration of the complexity of the issues. Basically if you are in business you need to take active steps to manage your business, brand and product names. You can help manage the risks to your business name and brands by registering the appropriate trademarks.
In the current environment of competition for brands and intellectual property you shouldn’t hesitate to take this step. The costs of re-branding can be very expensive, not to mention customers losing you with the change of name.
You can read more about registering trademarks yourself at IP Australia or if you want to get professional assistance you can contact us at Erina Legal to discuss your needs on 02 4365 6556.
