Whether you are a new or existing café owner, your brand is a fundamental aspect of your business’s future growth and success. Brand building and protection may not seem like an urgent priority. However, not protecting your brand early on could be significant and costly. Registering a trade mark for your café is a critical step in protecting and building your brand. This article sets out three reasons why registering a trade mark for your café is essential to building a successful business.
Your business’ brand represents your values, identity and reputation. Learn how to create a successful brand and protect it.
Brand Protection
Recognising the difference between registering your business name and registering a trade mark is important. Registering your business name and obtaining an Australian Business Number (ABN) does not prevent other businesses from using that name to represent their goods or services in the marketplace. Only by registering a trade mark do you get the right to use that name to the exclusion of others.
Registering a trade mark is valuable for new and established cafés alike. Registered trade mark rights can be a valuable asset and provide critical protection against copycats. Protecting your brand is particularly important for established, valuable brands that others may want to use to their advantage. In addition, brand protection is precious if the market in which you operate is highly competitive.
Consider registering a trade mark across various categories of goods and services if you anticipate expanding into selling other things or providing other services in the future. It is worth thinking about this prior to applying because once your trade mark is registered, you will not be able to add classes of protection to it, and you may need to reapply for further protection. A themed café is a good example where you may want to use your branding on various items or merchandise, such as t-shirts, caps, or mugs. You may also wish to sell roasted coffee beans or other retail items, which are covered in different classes.
Protecting your name across various classes allows you to add value to your business differently. Importantly, you can maintain the value of your brand as your competitors legally cannot use your:
- brand name;
- logo; or
- other signs used to represent your brand within your classes of protection.
Avoid Disputes Over Similar Names
The consequences of failing to protect your name with a trade mark registration early on could be costly. Suppose another business registers a trade mark similar to a part of your brand. In that case, you find yourself in a lengthy dispute over one of your most valuable intangible assets. This is particularly risky if your brand is well known and of value to competitors. The last thing you want is a litigation battle to obtain the rights to your name or brand in which you may have invested heavily.
If you find yourself in a dispute over the rights to your mark, you will need to demonstrate your use of the mark before the other party registering it. For example, you must show that your café has already been operating under the name or brand.
Although, depending on the type of objection you raise, you may need to show you have been using the trade mark for several years and have gained a reputation in it. This could be problematic if you have only just started up.
Continue reading this article below the formFacilitate Growth
A registered trade mark fo your cafe can also facilitate business growth. Indeed, a strong, secure brand attracts customers and can also attract investors. In addition, this may allow you to franchise or license the trade mark to others in expanding your brand locally or internationally.
By franchising, The Coffee Club can still control how its brand is used. Through a franchising agreement, The Coffee Club sets clear and specific guidelines as to how the franchisees are to use the brand to retain its integrity. This is an excellent example of how a strong brand has utilised a trade mark and franchising to grow their brand.
Alternatively, The Coffee Club could license their trade mark to others. However, this may give them less control over how their brand is used and presented. Therefore, it is important to understand the key differences between licensing and franchising.
Key Takeaways
As a café owner, you likely have many competing priorities, and it is easy to forget to prioritise the protection of your brand. However, investing in brand protection will allow your business to grow and become known by consumers without having to worry about your brand being jeopardised by third parties.
If you have any questions about trade marks or the process of registering a trade mark for your cafe, our experienced trade mark lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
You should apply to protect any sign or symbol that you use to represent your business in the marketplace. Most commonly, businesses choose to register their business name and logo.
IP Australia is the governing body that sets the requirements for trade mark applications in Australia. The main risks that you should be aware of are whether your trade mark conflicts with an existing trade mark on the register and whether your trade mark is too descriptive or cannot distinguish your goods and services from the goods and services of others.
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