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Trademark Registration Faq & Essentials

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Calling All Entrepreneurs: Everything You Need to Know About Registering Your Australian Trade Mark in the United States

 

As a U.S.-based trade mark attorney at Gerben Law Firm PLLC, I frequently receive inquiries from our Australian clients seeking to register their trade marks in the United States. Here are some answers to our most commonly asked questions.

trademark australia patents

Registering Australian trademarks in US

1. My trade mark is already registered in Australia. Does this registration protect my trade mark in the U.S.?

It is important to note that your Australian trade mark rights do not apply in the United States. Therefore, if you plan to expand your sales into the U.S. in the future, you should file for a trade mark registration in the U.S. to make sure your rights are protected.

2. What are the benefits of applying for a U.S. trade mark?

In today’s expanding global marketplace, it may be foreseeable for you to expand your market to sell in the U.S. in the future. It is vital to protect your trade mark in the U.S. if you intend to sell your goods or services in the U.S. By registering your trademark in the U.S., you will have legally enforceable rights in the event that someone else starts using your trade mark in the United States.

3. Do I need to have a business in the U.S. in order to register my trade mark in the United States?

No, you do not need to have a registered business entity in the United States to apply for a trade mark registration in the United States. An Australian citizen, or an Australian company, can own a United States trademark.

4. Why is conducting a US trademark search important?

 

A trademark attorney should always be hired to conduct a complete federal, state and common law trademark search in the United States before a trademark filing is made. An attorney’s search (with specialized software) can spot potential conflicts with your trademark before you file it. Using software available on-line to conduct a trademark search is often misleading and the results should not be trusted. In addition, a US trademark attorney should conduct a state and common law trademark search. These searches can spot a problem that could lead to a lawsuit for you in the future (these are unique rights that are possible outside the federal system under U.S. trademark law).

5. How long does it take to register a trademark in the United States.

After your attorney has conducted a search for you, he or she can assist you in filing your trade mark application with the U.S. government. Once the U.S. government receives your trademark application an attorney for United States Patent and Trademark Office will review your mark to ensure that it does not conflict with a pre-existing trademark and complies with all applicable rules and statutes. It typically takes 6-8 months for the U.S. government to review your trade mark and issue a registration certificate.

Business Start Up – Caroline’s Skin Care

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Caroline’s Skincare is now a established skincare product in the market. Read how Caroline’s Cream Products was born  and launched into the market

How I started my business (Start up story)

Twelve years ago I developed eczema on my hands so severe that when my daughter was born I couldn’t bathe her without excruciating pain. Nothing I used worked so I decided to develop my own cream to help ease the symptoms.

Caroline Skincare australia Business start up

The cream began existence in my kitchen. I had aromatherapy experience so used that knowledge, along with a lot of research to create a healing moisturiser. After months of trial and error and many experimental batches, I found a workable formula that was filled with soothing, natural ingredients.

Business – Demand and Expansion

Not only had the cream improved my skin rapidly, the results it had with others in treating a variety of skin complaints such as eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis was incredible. Public demand led me to begin producing Caroline’s Cream in bigger numbers and founding my skincare company, Caroline’s Skincare Pty Ltd.

In 2003 my first batch of six bottles was taken by a local pharmacy. Now my cream is listed on the registrar of Therapeutic goods as a complementary medicine, I have two manufacturers and a distributor.

 

History of start up Caroline Skincare

 

Initially I had very few business skills as I’d left school at 15 and modelled for 20 years; I was computer illiterate – I didn’t even know how to turn a computer on! In fact I had no experience at all in running a business. But out of necessity I learned, especially as the business grew.

I also started with no working capital (I started with $5000 on a credit card and initially offered product on consignment for nearly six months) and it was at least six years before I drew earnings from the business. As demand increased it was necessary to continually pour the income back into it.

In 2006 I created an All Purpose Wash, which is based on the same formula as the cream.

In the past year my business has grown by 2000%. New outlets are coming on board daily, with my range now available in over 3000 outlets Australia wide, as well as being sent overseas to customers on a regular basis.

Guest post for Caroline Monet – Founder, Caroline’s Skin Care www.Carolineskincare.com

How Pooch mobile got a jump start

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In 1985 when I was 16 I started a dog clipping and grooming service operating from my parent’s back yard.

I grew up in a self-employed family who shared my love of animals, especially dogs. With their support and guidance and a lot of determination, I went into business by myself. I was lucky to be doing something I loved and earning money from it.

Mobile Hydrobath For dogs

pooch mobile aus Chris Walking AJ 2 - 2012

My business grew rapidly with demand from further afield, so when I was 21 I expanded the service to include mobile hydro bathing, travelling to customer’s homes to wash and pamper the family dog.

I launched the business as a single mobile hydrobath in 1991 and once people saw the benefits to their dogs, success was instant. I created and launched the Aussie Pooch Mobile Pty Ltd in 1992 and was the first person to franchise a mobile dog washing business in the world.

After success in Australia, I realised a global need for my business so after more research, I launched as ‘The Pooch Mobile’ overseas. There are currently Pooch Mobile franchises in the UK, Malaysia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and the USA, with a total of almost 200 operators worldwide.

Expanding into dog business

I am able to anticipate customer’s needs, which has helped me maintain success for 21 years, through recessions, ups and downs and other concerns that crop up in business.

Franchising with APM has a twofold Small business benefit. Franchisees are able to build a successful business while doing something they are passionate about and earn a great income. Franchising with Aussie Pooch sees you working for yourself but not by yourself.

I’ve expanded with demand. APM is actively involved in the community, has initiated fundraising ventures and developed our own line of dog care products and doggy treats.

This is essential to business considering the increasing number of people using at-home services, which is a trend that will continue. That means I will always be looking at keeping up with what my customer’s want. It also means I will need more franchisees to keep up with this demand.

This article is part of the “New small business start up  series” . Guest post  for www.AussiePoochMobile.com.au by Jane Keighley

Half yearly reporting

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Half yearly reporting for the big four banks from Australia NAB ANZ WESTPAC COMMBANK. May 2012

Link : Quarterly, Half-Yearly and Annual Reporting Requirements Checklist

Quarterly Reporting for Banks

– Due within 6 weeks of end of
quarter

Half-yearly – June and December
Due within 6 weeks of end of halfyear

Half-yearly Reporting

Due within 6 weeks of end of
balance date half-years

Annual  Reporting

Due within 3 months of balance
date

Data Centre Investment in Australia picks up

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With Australia becoming a significant hub  requiring IT services, the demand for  Local based Data Centres have increased.

Many local Businesses and government are more comfortable in  a local provider  who is under the Australian government laws,  handling their data traffic  and internet  services  rather  than a company  that is somewhere in the US,  with the data being able to be investigated  by the US authorities at their will.

data centre australia amazon hp fujitsu rackspace

Multi-million data centre to open in Sydney

Cloud hosting provider Rackspace is opening a multimillion-dollar data centre in Erskine Park in Sydney’s west. The company is said to fulfil existing high demand for onshore cloud computing services.

Demand is high for cloud computing and data centres from small businesses to corporate and financial institutions and government agencies.
US-based Rackspace has had a sales and technical support operation in Australia for 3½ years.

Rackspaces top clients

Lonely Planet

Pacific Brands

Tourism Queensland

Xero

Saasu.

 

AMAZON , HP, FUJITSU DATA CENTRES EXPAND IN AUSTRALIA

With the expansion of this data centre there will be some more jobs with the company expanding to a total of 50 employees within three years. Most big companies like Google and other Big US providers are subject to the US Patriot Act, whereby the US  government can access your stored records if they think it necessary, while any company operating under Australian soil will still have to disclose any information in compliance with  Australian law.

Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing arm of Amazon.com, recently announced an Edge location in Sydney australia for some of its data and online services. HP has opened a $200 million data centre in Western Sydney, while Fujitsu has done a  multimillion dollar upgrade to its Melbourne data centre.

What is s data centre ?

Fujitsu has done a $60 million investment on its data centre to provide its 2,000 Australian enterprise and government customers with increased access to secure hosting services

The get an idea of what a data centre really is , you can check out his pdf information file ( yeh bro) by fujitsu

From bumper to bumper – The car care couple

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In 2005 Australia was gripped by drought and Australian drivers were stranded. Water restrictions in most states meant car owners could no longer pull out the trusty garden hose to wash their vehicles. To wash a car at home required about nine frustrating buckets of water and splashing water over a car didn’t have the pressure to lift grit, the volume to properly remove suds or the spray pattern to tidy up the wheels.

Start of a Business Idea

“This was too frustrating,” says business owner Ian Godwin, “I thought, there has to be a better way to wash a car that’s legal and water efficient.”

car wash fun

In 2005 Ian started developing a 12V high pressure low flow pump inside a compact tank. In 2007 the prototype was ready enabling a car to be washed in just two buckets of water providing users with a convenient and efficient way to wash a car at home.

Home Made Carwash – Wash me

Ian’s wife, Miriam Tulevski, who has a background in sales and marketing, encouraged the initial production run. “If we can’t get retail support I’ll sell them to Bondi Markets,” she recalls saying.Small business

The product was launched at a major car show in June 2007 and by 2009 it had distribution in Australia’s premium auto outlets including Repco, Autobarn and Super Cheap Auto.

We started winning awards. Car Cube was voted best-in-class by Choice magazine – Australia’s leading independent consumer magazine. Smart Approved WaterMark awarded it 2009 Product of the Year.

Since then, the business expanded into car care accessories under the name Car Cube sold at Big W and Auto One and Wash Me!, a ranged positioned as high performance and low fuss. We also do premium private label car care products.

“We want Wash Me! to be Australia’s best value car care range” says Miriam. “Parts of the range are already available at Woolworths and Retail Adventures.”

“Of course it can be challenging working with your spouse but we’re a strong fit. Our skills are quite different so in business we complement each other. He’s more technical and operational while I’m more business development and strategy. We share a passion for great quality and excellent value and bring this passion to the products we create and supply for our customers,” says Miriam.

Guest article part of the “New small business start up  series”

Related links for Small business start up series

 

Get your own Publicity and start up your business

 

Oven fairy ( Small Business- Start up Series)

Get your own Publicity and start up your business

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We often hear stories of people who set up their business with no start up funds, reinvest the income in the business and grow organically.Small business

Enter the two women who run DIY publicity

Founders, Jules Brooke and Simone Heydon, started Handle Your Own PR in Australia three years ago. And now they are a global business! In 2010 they opened an office in the US and recently started operating in the UK. Handle Your Own PR: Jules Brooke and Simone Heydon. Set up for small businesses and individuals who want or need publicity but don’t have the funds to pay an agency

 

Handle Your Own PR is Small businesses

“We truly have a passion for small business” founding partner Jules Brooke says. “We have a full service PR agency and felt awful turning away potential clients who simply didn’t have the funds to pay for a campaign when we were aware that the media would probably love their story.”

Small business Publicity

Now running in three countries, Australia, the USA and England, (www.handleyourownpr.com.au, www.handleyourownpr.com and www.handleyourownpr.co.uk) Handle Your Own PR is one-of-a-kind. Nowhere else in the world has someone set out to inform and facilitate how to get publicity for small businesses. These two women saw a niche and went for it.

HYOPR is a do-it-yourself publicity business, helping small businesses and entrepreneurs generate publicity without the use of a PR agency. The Australian, UK and US websites are particularly useful for those businesses selling online and are able to post internationally.

Jules and Simone are entrepreneurs with an Australian online business success story. They found a gap in the market and a solution when it was at its lowest. Consequently, Handle Your Own PR was born.

Guest article part of the “new small business start up  series”

Small business

 

Related Links Start up

oven-fairy-small-business-start-up-series

Oven fairy ( Small Business- Start up Series)

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We are starting a new small business start up  series  where  we will feature Small businesses  that have launched  and willing to share their launch, how they run their business and their success story.

First in the series – Oven fairy www.ovenfairy.com.au

At age 63 you would hardly think starting a new business would be on your mind but that is what I did.

oven fairy

Oven fairy- Get your Dirt y oven clean

Staring into my dirty oven one day I just could not face the thought of cleaning it again. I searched for someone who would do the job for me and discovered that this service was not available here in Sydney. I immediately thought that here was a business opportunity.

My successful Interior Design business which I have had now for 40 years was extremely busy with many projects in the pipeline but despite that Oven Fairy was born.

Going from never wanting to clean my oven again I was out there developing my new enterprise by cleaning other people’s oven
Key to the “jump start” is the name Oven Fairy.s! It took several months to get the whole system right, training staff, implementing office procedures and imbuing everyone with our commitment to excellent customer service.

Tracking all our advertising a nd promotions told us what worked and what did not. Apart from our repeat business we ask every client where they heard about us so we know month by month where our business comes from.

Small business

The challenges were many from finding the right products that are environmentally safe to honouring our promise to return all the ovens to showroom condition.Oven Fairy is recommended by Ilve, Miele and Smeg and our statistics show that 65% of our business is returning clients and recommendations. We are the premier oven cleaning business in Sydney and we now have 7 Oven Fairies delighting passionate cooks in Sydney.

Oven Fairy also cleans stove tops, range hoods, microwaves and BBQs. Juggling Oven Fairy and Momo Interiors has kept me very busy and I am still enjoying all the excitement and rewards owning a business presents.

I will be 70 years old this year with no plans for slowing down. Passion and commitment to the highest levels of customer service, doing wh at you promise, being on time for appointments all contribute to success.

Get in touch with Rosemary at www.ovenfairy.com.au

Guest article part of the “new small business start up  series”

Related links for Small business start up series

http://get-your-own-publicity-and-start-up-your-business/

Buddy, Can You Spare a Life Insurance Policy?

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Anything at all would really help; maybe a little Hartford? MetLife? or Deloitte? Bless you, kind sir.

Dennis Grayson

Not Enough Life Insurance Agents

We recently reported that the number of agents selling life insurance products is dwindling at an alarming rate. At least some are alarmed by it, most notably those captains in the insurance industry who are certain that American’s don’t have enough life insurance and should have more. (Not Enough Life Insurance Agents?)

life insurance deloitte

Now comes corroborating news that “the prime reason many uninsured individuals don’t have insurance coverage is that no carrier has invited them to purchase their products.” That’s according to a new survey published by Deloitte, LLC, or the subsidiary of Deloitte that is big on insurance and that sort of thing, at any rate. “Even insured individuals who are open to buying additional coverage often say that they have not been solicited by carriers.”*

I would humbly suggest, at the outset of this discussion, that the real reason many uninsured individuals don’t have life insurance coverage is because they simply don’t want it or feel the need for it. As a consequence, they don’t feel even slightly compelled to buy it.

Deloitte study on consumer insurance

The title of the Deloitte study, “The Voice of the Life Insurance Consumer,” is a little troubling in that while consumers may have indeed lent their voices to Deloitte, the company and other captains in the industry may have either been a little tone deaf, or perhaps they only heard what they wanted to hear.

The survey was conducted to provide life insurers with insights into how people perceived the value of life insurance, including where coverage ranked among their other financial priorities, as well how consumers preferred to be reached.

“From our survey it is clear that life insurance is very much on the minds of many consumers,” said Rebecca C. Amoroso, Vice Chairman and U.S. Insurance Leader for Deloitte LLP. (Deloitte was of course the survey’s executive sponsor.)

While there is little data in their study which might actually suggest this, I support Ms. Amoroso’s natural inclination to protect the industry, and her six figured income (I’m only guessing). I would be inclined to replace the word ‘many’ with the word ‘some’.

Guest post by Nicholas for Structured Settlement of www.sellingyourstructuredsettlement.com

Woolworths Vs Coles in new advertising war

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Woolworths have stepped up the advertising ware to get new customers with a new catchy and cute advertisement featuring  a nice oldies song depicting the fresh food people of Woolworth to rival the chef ads from Coles  doing the rounds.

Australia’s retailers are spending  up big to get the attention of the consumers with catchy new ads  as coles have increased their take from the retail grocery market in recent years.

coles-vs-woolworths-marketing- advertising

Woolworths new catchy Advertisement steps up the retail advertising war ( free Song)

Download Free  the woolworths song.. Monday .. Tuesday (6.5mb)

Melbourne singer Gossling, who had a hit with guest vocals on 360’s Boys Like You, has recorded the soundtrack to the major new Woolworths campaign.

 

A presentation featuring ‘The Voice’s Emma Louise Birdsall performing the new Woolworths song A special presentation featuring ‘The Voice’s Emma Louise Birdsall performing the new Woolworths song

Listen to Emma Louise Birdsall’s performance here.

Here is the original song

The Woolworths  song `Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday – I Love You’ was originally recorded in the late 1940’s by the Big Band vocalist Kitty Kallen with Lawrence Welk and his Champagne Orchestra.

Woolworths slogan has been updated from “the fresh food people” to “Australia’s fresh food people”.

The price fight Coles started last year when it cut the price of its house-brand milk by 33 per cent quickly became an all-out competition between the supermarket giants bringing the consumersbetter prices for many products , but sparking uproar in their grocery suppliers.

Coles has launched an aggressive advertising campaign in the past six months, and is reported to be outspending Woolworths by two to one by also including celebrity chef Curtis stone in their Advertisements

Coles new Single and advertisement – Down Down prices are down

Cole’s has hit back with a a new full length advertisement video by  Status Quo. Watch video here   http://downdown.coles.com.au/video/ .  Down Down, Prices are Down is sung by  Status Quo in thier extended tv commercial. thier previous advertisement also featured 64-year-old Vietnam vet, Rowe singing a reworked version of his 1965 hit, a cover of Shakin’ All Over. Coles even got thier new music store @ https://www.colesmusic.com.au/

A Coles spokesman said it was not surprised Woolworths has tried to emulate its success. “They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so let’s just say that with some competitors’ recent activity, we are feeling very flattered,” senior manager consumer PR, Jon Church, said.