Business Names

What is a Business Name?

A registered business name gives the owner the right to trade under that business name and protects the owner’s interest in the intellectual property (and value) which develops in the use of a name. There is some, but not perfect, protection to be gained by registering a business name. The strongest form of name protection is afforded by way of a trade mark registration.

The name used for trading does not need to be registered if:

  • the trading entity is an individual and the trading name is the name of that individual
  • the trading entity is a company and the trading name is the name of that company
  • the trading entity is a partnership and the trading name is the name of all partners.

If the business name is for an individual and includes one or more words, the business name thus created needs to be registered. For example, if Tom Jones is a mechanic and trades as Tom Jones Mechanic, that trading name (Tom Jones Mechanic) needs to be registered as it is different to the owner’s name.

The registration of a business name now covers the whole of Australia, rather than just one of Australia’s eight jurisdictions. The registration lasts for three years and is capable of being renewed indefinitely.

Please keep your details up-to-date, as your renewal papers will be sent to your registered office. The registration of many business names lapse due to failure to maintain this data.

A business name must be owned by a legal entity. A legal entity may be one or more individuals, a company or an incorporated association. The individuals must be over the age of 18 years, not bankrupt nor subject to any other legal or mental disability.

What’s required?

As the granting of a registered business name is somewhat subjective, we would normally ask you to provide up to three or four options, ranked in order of preference.

Other items needed include:

  • a registered office – this is a street address which may be your home or work address, or the address of a third party such as your accountant or lawyer. Castle can act as your registered office.
  • one or more business addresses, all of which must be street addresses.

Other Business Name services

We can assist you with the following:

Fees

To view a list of fees for Business Names, please click here.


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