We've been hearing a lot of about the damage to the Qantas brand in the last few days. And we know that a good reputation takes many years to establish and only one bad deed to destroy.

But before a business gets to that stage the brand needs to be alive and well. And all businesses, just like a child, and regardless of size, need a name at birth?

Competitors are often at bay ready to copy your best selling product or design, even your slogan, hence why you need to ensure you are protected.

Many small businesses can't afford the legal fees incurred by Intellectual Property (IP) lawyers; however you can't afford the risk of having your name or brand stolen either and you can organise the protection yourself.

An important key to trademark law is to register your brand as soon as possible in order to obtain protection.

Trade marking is not as overwhelming as it sounds, and it will stop blatant and subtle copying; the little ©, ^TM, or ® symbols next to your brand could mean all the difference to your safety; view them as a security door to your business if you like.

At IP Australia you can research the name you want and register it at a low cost; a few hundred dollars is all you may need to secure your brand depending on the quantity of protection you want.

You can use the © logo, ‘copyright' with any of your work without registering a trademark. However, no creative work is automatically protected just by using the © symbol even though there are international treaties which provide protection to creative works when they are fixed onto a medium.

To add certainty to the protection of your brand name, it is best to register the trademark which will allow you to place the ^TM symbol next to your brand. Once the IP registration is approved you can replace the ^TM with the ® symbol to deliver the message and keep others at bay.

Many businesses spend a small fortune on web design, packaging, logo and a name but overlook securing their trademark. If trademarks are not organised before a competitor makes duplication, the expense, often in excess of $50,000, and the time required to stop the offender after the fact could permanently damage any business.

Research shows that more than 70% of Australian brands are not properly protected; make sure you are part of the minority.
Imagine you register your business, begin operation and continue trading. Then a short time after your success begins, someone registers a similar business name. Well, unless you have a trademark there is little you can do about it. For example, if you your business is called Yummy Chocolates, someone may trademark Yummy Boxed Chocolates and there is little you can do about it because only one law is applicable to branding - trademark law.

Why the sooner the better? Registration of a trademark can be a lengthy process; in fact it can take an average of nine months from start to finish within Australia alone; if you want an international trademark the process could take several years depending on the countries you wish to trademark in. However, as soon as you register, your brand will be protected.

As soon as your application is lodged, your trademark protection is in place. In the case where a claim against a competitor is needed, you can backdate it if the application for your trademark was ultimately successful.

As with other sections of the law including wills, you can do the trademark registration yourself or you can get help from a trademark lawyer or an attorney. The Trade Mark Act can be complex, so if you decide to do it yourself, make sure that you are prepared to do your homework. You can obtain further information at IP Australia by visiting www.ipaustralia.gov.au

Regardless of how you go about getting your trademark the point is to protect your brand so ensure it's done correctly in order to prevent your $1 million brand from being worthless.

If you seek legal advice chose your lawyer wisely, trademark law is a specialised area and most lawyers have little or no expertise in this area; so ensure you speak to a lawyer specialising in IP. More importantly ensure the lawyer you chose provides you with an exact quote before you start the process to ensure there are no surprises that could amount to thousands of dollars half way through the application process.

-Yolanda Vega