As Safe as Houses

Gary Jan of Gary Jan Real Estate was like many sole traders whose name, business plan and intellectual property issues seemed simple. But when business success beckoned, Gary contemplated more complex IP matters.

“Before commencing my business, I called the Department of Fair Trading and they advised that I wasn’t required to register a business name if I was using my own name,” Gary recalled.

“Very soon, I will merge with two other partners and will be changing the trading name and therefore be required to register the business name,” he said.

“When the new partnership is completed, we’ll be developing a unique branding of the company and we have discussed registering the business name in each state in the event we expand our operation in the future.”

Gary says he wants to be fully protected for any IP surprises, “It is prudent to register a trade mark.” Unlike a business name, a registered trade mark can provide legal protection for your brand and enable you to stop others from trading with it.

“I would be devastated if another company was to force us to change our business name or domain name,” he said. “It would certainly make life financially very difficult should you lose, as you’d need to change your entire image and not to mention the expensive court and legal costs fighting large companies”.

Gary already has a website and said he is prepared to pay to protect his intangible assets.

“I see it as an insurance policy and therefore needed to include it in my budget,” he insisted. “This provided my company protection in the event another business plagiarised any part of our branding and marketing.”

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