By Liam Hehir 

Bernard owns a carpet cleaning company and he has a real flair for running the business. He offers a top-notch service and the whole operation is capped off by a memorable business name, Carpet Cleaners One, with associated logo. Within a few years, Carpet Cleaners One has gained a reputation around town as the people to call for carpet cleaning.

One day, Bernard saw a parked van with Carpet Cleaners 1 and a phone number sign-written on the door. The logo was also similar to Carpet Cleaners One. The name and logo are so similar; in fact, that at first glance Bernard thought it must have been one of his.

Bernard is sure that the owner of Carpet Cleaners 1 is deliberately confusing customers by trading on his own hard-won reputation - possibly damaging his business in the process. He determined to put a stop to it.

Bernard had never considered registering Carpert Cleaners One or his logo as a trademark under the Trade Marks Act 2002. It would have been good if he had, because registering a trademark automatically gives exclusive use to the owner. From there, it would have then been a straightforward matter to stop his competitor's dishonest activities.

Unfortunately, Bernard had to settle for other legal remedies. Eventually, he brought a lawsuit against his competitor for passing off, an older but still existing way of enforcing trademarks. This required Bernard going to Court and giving enough evidence that there was ‘goodwill' associated with the name and logo.

Needless to say, this was a costly and time-consuming exercise for Bernard that he would rather have avoided.

Registering a trademark costs $112.50 in registration fees, and a modest amount in legal fees. If your business has a good reputation, and relies on that reputation, then such a small price represents a good investment that will add value to your company, and make protecting your business a lot easier.