Your ASIC business name protects less than you think: business name vs trade mark in Australia
The direct answer
In Australia, a business name registered with ASIC identifies who operates under that name. IP Australia states that it does not give you exclusive rights to the name, that other people can register or use a similar one, and that it provides no intellectual property protection. A company name registered under the Corporations Act creates a legal entity and likewise gives no brand ownership. Only a registered trade mark, administered by IP Australia, is an intellectual property right that grants exclusive rights nationwide to use the mark for the goods and services it is registered for, and allows legal action against infringement. The registers do not cross check each other, so an available business name may conflict with an existing trade mark and vice versa. A standard application costs $250 per class using IP Australia's picklist or $400 per class otherwise; registration lasts ten years from the filing date and takes at least seven months. Figures checked in October 2026 against IP Australia's fee pages; confirm current fees before filing. This is general information rather than legal advice.
Five conclusions
The argument, compressed.
- An ASIC business name is a public record of who trades under a name. IP Australia's own words: it does not give you exclusive rights to that name.
- A company name creates a legal entity. It gives no brand ownership and no trade mark rights.
- A registered trade mark is the only one of the three that is an intellectual property right, with exclusive use nationwide for the registered goods and services.
- The registers never cross check. An available ASIC name can conflict with a registered trade mark, and the other way round.
- A standard application costs $250 per class with the picklist or $400 without, lasts ten years from filing and takes at least seven months.
Working framework · 3 decisions
The three register check
Three places to look before a name goes on a sign, a website or a clinic door. Each answers a different question, and clearing one says nothing about the others.
Decision 01 / 03
ASIC business names register
Is the name available to register as a business name? This answers a disclosure question only. ASIC checks its own registers and leaves trade marks out.
What an ASIC business name does
A business name is the trading name you register with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission so customers know who owns the business. IP Australia describes its effect in one sentence on its own guidance page: it identifies your business but does not give you exclusive rights to that name. Other people can register or use a similar business name, and the registration provides no intellectual property protection.
That is the whole of it. The business names register exists so the public can find out who is behind a trading name. It was never designed to decide who owns a brand, and it decides nothing of the kind.
A company name is the second register founders confuse with ownership. Registering a company under the Corporations Act creates a separate legal entity, and ASIC will refuse an identical company name. IP Australia is equally direct about it: registering a company does not give you trade mark rights, and it creates no brand ownership.
The short version
ASIC answers who is trading under the name. IP Australia answers who owns it. Only the second answer stops a competitor.
What a registered trade mark adds
A trade mark is a sign, such as a word, a logo, a slogan or a shape, registered with IP Australia to distinguish your goods or services from everyone else's. Registration grants exclusive rights nationwide to use the mark for the goods and services it covers, lets you take legal action against suspected infringement, and tends to deter copying before it starts.
Protection runs for ten years from the filing date and renews for further ten year periods. IP Australia's published timeframe is at least seven months from filing to registration, with examination usually taking three to four months of that.
The right is tied to classes. A physiotherapy clinic registers in the class that covers medical and allied health services; a consultancy registers in the class for business services. Each class is a separate fee, so the list of classes is worth a conversation with a trade mark attorney before filing.
- Standard application with IP Australia's picklist of goods and services: $250 per class.
- Standard application without the picklist: $400 per class.
- TM Headstart, the pre application assessment: $200 per class, then $130 per class to convert to a standard application.
- Term: ten years from the filing date, renewable.
- Figures from IP Australia's fee pages, checked October 2026. Confirm before you file.
Where the registers collide
IP Australia states the trap plainly: the registers do not cross check, so an available business name on ASIC may conflict with an existing trade mark on IP Australia's register, and the other way round. A founder who clears the business name, builds the website and prints the signage can still receive a letter from the owner of a registered mark.
The reverse case is quieter but just as common. A business trades for years under a name it never registered as a trade mark. A competitor registers it. The first business now has to argue prior use, at its own cost, against a registration certificate.
Neither case is rare in service businesses, where names tend to be descriptive and shared. The cost of the mistake sits in everything built on top of the name: the sign, the website, the reviews collected under a name the business later has to give up.
Names that are hard to register
A trade mark has to distinguish your services. Names that describe the service, such as Sydney Physio or Quality Accounting, are the hardest to register because other traders need those words too. They are also the hardest to remember, which is the brand problem and the legal problem pointing the same way.
A coined word, an unexpected pairing or a personal name used with a distinctive device tends to clear more easily and tends to be recalled more easily. That is why naming is a positioning decision before it is a legal one: the name that is yours to own is usually the one that says something only you would say.
The order to work in
Shortlist three names before anyone designs a logo. Run each one through the three register check. Drop any name with a close match on the trade mark register in your classes, whatever ASIC says about it.
File the trade mark in the classes you sell in today and the one you expect to enter next. TM Headstart is worth considering for a name you are unsure about, since the assessment arrives before the full fee is committed.
Then register the business name and the domain. In that order, the name on the door is one you already know you can keep. Clearance searches and the filing itself belong with a trade mark attorney; the brand decision of which name to fight for belongs with you.
Before you use it
Questions that can change the recommendation.
Does registering a business name with ASIC protect it?
IP Australia says it does not give you exclusive rights to the name and provides no intellectual property protection. Other people can register or use a similar business name. Protection against that comes from a registered trade mark.
Is a company name the same as a trade mark?
No. A company name registered with ASIC creates a legal entity. IP Australia states that registering a company does not give you trade mark rights or brand ownership. A trade mark is a separate registration with IP Australia.
How much does it cost to register a trade mark in Australia?
IP Australia lists $250 per class for a standard application using its picklist of goods and services, or $400 per class otherwise. The TM Headstart pre application service costs $200 per class, then $130 per class to convert. Attorney fees are separate. Figures checked October 2026.
How long does a trade mark last, and how long does registration take?
Registration gives ten years of protection from the filing date and can be renewed. IP Australia says registering a trade mark takes at least seven months, with examination usually taking three to four months.
Can I hold a business name, a company name and a trade mark at once?
Yes. IP Australia notes that each register serves a different purpose, so a business can hold all three. Only the trade mark gives enforceable, nationwide rights in the name.
What does brand strategy cost for an Australian business?
At Branding Tatva the Foundation engagement starts at US$2,800 for Australian projects, quoted in US dollars. Its published scope includes discovery and positioning, audience and purpose definition, a core visual identity, starter brand guidelines and launch messaging direction. Trade mark searches, clearance and filing sit outside that scope and belong with a trade mark attorney.
Research record
What this guide draws from.
Each source note describes what the reference supports. Platform guidance, research findings and Branding Tatva's practical suggestions have different scopes.
- Is my business name my IP?
IP Australia, IP First Response
Business name, company name and registered trade mark compared; the statement that the registers do not cross check.
- Trade mark timeframes and fees
IP Australia
Application fees per class with and without the picklist, TM Headstart fees, ten year term and the seven month minimum timeframe. Checked October 2026.
- Register a business name
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
The business names register and what registration records.
