1. Safety – Before registering, a preliminary identity and similarity search in the trade mark data bases of IP Australia and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) will increase (or almost exclude) any likelihood of confusion, thus being an obstacle to registration or use of your business’ name or logo.

2. Avoid costly expenses – If you do not search and register you ID and you find out later that another company already has the same or a very similar name or logo, you will have to redo all of your business cards, stationery, advertising and signs.

3. Keep your customers – If you have to change your business name because you later find out that someone else has already registered an identical or similar trade mark, you could avoid confusion and thus not lose your customers.

4. Exclusive use – Registering your trade mark gives you the exclusive right to use it within the relevant geographic area.

5. Option to expand protection and exclusivity – With a registered trade mark in your home country you obtain the option to expand its protection in several countries around the globe.

6. Presumption of ownership – Anyone else who uses your registered trade mark will be presumed to be a willful infringer, and you could be entitled to damages as a result of the infringement.

7. Let your trade mark earn money for you – Having a registered trade mark in place provides you with the option to grant licenses to other businesses or companies that would like to use your mark. They will have to pay you license fees for this privilege.

8. Protection – Trade Mark registration serves as constructive notice to the rest of the country that you are the owner of the mark, even if you do not yet do business nationally. That means you are protected against any attempts to stop you trading under a protected name or logo. If you do no register and there happens to be a registered owner of the identical or a substantially similar mark, that owner will have an indefinite period of time to find you and sue you for infringement.

9. Get recognised – A distinctive trade mark stands out and enables the public to identify your business or company as the origin of the goods and services.

10. Impress and increase value – A registered trade mark strengthens the reputation of your business of company and increases its value.