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June 9, 2018 at 10:38 pm #998742Up::0
Hello everyone
1. What should be the most important criteria for business/brand name?
– Tells about the business/service (XYZ Business Consulting, ABC Child Care, etc.)
– Generic names for SEO (appliancesonline.com.au, realestate.com.au, carsales.com.au)
– Funky names
– Phrases
– GeoNames (SydneySEO.com, BrisbaneCleaningServices.com, etc.)
– anything else…?Thank You & Good Day.
June 10, 2018 at 12:12 am #1215831Up::0LOL, such good questions….
For me personally it comes down to what I can trademark and what dot com domain I can get for my product brands.
So the names tend to be more on the funky side and short. I aim for a maximum of 10 letters – the shorter the better.
SMARTsafe
ROCKsafe
SAFcomm
Zerite
ZaftiYou get the drift – all of these are trademarked, some are companies, some are brands.
If I was marketing a service business in a single location I would probably go with a GEO name combined with a service description IE Sydney Cleaning Services etc
Cheers
MischelleJune 10, 2018 at 1:02 am #1215832Up::0One other point to think about is the long-term view and what plans you might have for the business, which will inevitably evolve over time.
For example ‘Sydney Cleaning’ is restrictive if you want to expand or head north for warmer weather!
Similarly, using your own name can be fine too, but can sometimes make it trickier to expand with new people.
Always lots to think about when naming a business… which often leads to lots of overthinking Lots of successful businesses have weird and wonderful names that you might never choose, so often a name and brand is what you build over time.
June 10, 2018 at 6:00 am #1215833Up::0I see a lot of people here tell that if there is a similar .com or the US or international business brand – then it is NOT a good idea to use that name with .com.au for Australia. And I see strong suggestions in this direction.
However, there are only so many names in English language and even lesser words when it is to be used for business/service/product category. With internet evolving for years now, a lot of those names are taken, especially in the .com domain. A lot of .com businesses do not supply/provide services to Australia and hence getting a similar .com.au should be so much of an issue. What do ya all think about this?
June 11, 2018 at 4:37 am #1215834Up::0I think it depends on the product/service type. From a trademark perspective (I am a trademarks attorney) we worry mostly with what is registered and where, as trademark registration is country-by-country. BUT, if an overseas owner is distributing to Australia, or the Australian business wants to be able to distribute overseas then that does need consideration – preferably early on so that you don’t come up against the hurdle in the future when ready to expand etc. However, if there was a US based local cleaning company “ABC CLEANING” for example, then probably not such a big deal for an AU business using the same name as the risk of confusion is minimal.
June 11, 2018 at 10:16 am #1215835Up::0JacquiPryor, post: 260164, member: 20176 wrote:I think it depends on the product/service type. From a trademark perspective (I am a trademarks attorney) we worry mostly with what is registered and where, as trademark registration is country-by-country. BUT, if an overseas owner is distributing to Australia, or the Australian business wants to be able to distribute overseas then that does need consideration – preferably early on so that you don’t come up against the hurdle in the future when ready to expand etc. However, if there was a US-based local cleaning company “ABC CLEANING” for example, then probably not such a big deal for an AU business using the same name as the risk of confusion is minimal.
Thank You for your input. Completely get your opinion from the legal point of view. However, if IP wasn’t an issue – there are still some people who suggest that it isn’t a good idea possible from SEO, moral, ethical or for other reasons best known to them. It would be nice to find out if IP wasn’t an issue – would there still be hesitation and/or concern using a .com.au where .com was owned and run by a different entity.June 11, 2018 at 2:39 pm #1215836Up::0OnlineBizConsultant, post: 260165, member: 104972 wrote:Thank You for your input. Completely get your opinion from the legal point of view. However, if IP wasn’t an issue – there are still some people who suggest that it isn’t a good idea possible from SEO, moral, ethical or for other reasons best known to them. It would be nice to find out if IP wasn’t an issue – would there still be hesitation and/or concern using a .com.au where .com was owned and run by a different entity.
What space would the business be in and what size company has the .com and is the brand of the .com universally known?These are some of the questions I would ask before assessing.
Eg, if Dunkin Donuts never acquired the .com.au domain, expect a cease and desist letter very soon after going live.
If johnspuncturerepairs.com didn’t have the .com.au, you probably wouldn’t here from them.
Same goes for all of the purchased domains that have never been used.
I personally like descriptive names eg, “yourbrandstory” – breaks all of [USER=60404]@Mischelle[/USER] ‘s rules but I have to be a contrarian sometimes!
June 11, 2018 at 11:33 pm #1215837Up::0I agree with Paul. Obviously difficult for me to get into the head space of “if IP wasn’t an issue” haha. The moral/ethical question is a relevant one, and connected to the IP question often. Exactly per Paul’s example with Dunkin Donuts – it would likely be ‘bad faith’ to register a .com.au knowing of the brand (even if they hadn’t registered trademarks etc in Australia) and likely not moral as the .com.au owner would have to know about that brand and you would assume trying to piggy back of their reputation (which, becomes an IP issue again).
That said, we have side tracked from your original post into a discussion about domains –
“1. What should be the most important criteria for business/brand name?”
The short answer in my view (and yes, unsurprisingly) is that the use of the name should be ‘safe’ – not infringing rights, not amounting to bad faith use, able to be registered/protected and enforced etc.
I don’t love ‘generic’ names as they are notoriously difficult to use exclusively or protect and enforce (although realestate.com.au has just been registered as a trademark after a long battle to get it through); I like funky/clever names – plays on words. For my own brand it combines a bit of a play on words (Mark My Words) but the full company name includes “Trademark Services” so it still tells people what I do, but, if at some time I wanted to drop that descriptive element I’d have my catchy little name still in play.
I don’t think a brand has to be descriptive/generic to be successful or found. Think about Google for example. We all know the brand now, but really – what does it mean? When it first was created, it certainly wouldn’t have indicated an internet search engine. Likewise Apple – originally we would have all just thought about fruit; it isn’t a descriptive term for computer related goods/services etc. I think (noting I am certainly not an expert in SEO or marketing) that pretty much any brand could be noticed/succeed with the right marketing and advertising strategies etc. So, back to the original question – maybe there isn’t a ‘most important’ criteria?
June 12, 2018 at 12:02 am #1215838Up::0I always get the .com and the .com.au, and any other domain I can get my hands on to lock down my brand.
June 12, 2018 at 5:50 am #1215839Up::0With my first business, we went for a name that was clever & original. Then spent 10yrs explaining what it meant. lol
Now heading into a new business, I learnt from past mistakes. As mentioned earlier, looking ahead of where I want the business to go and grow, chose a name that could incorporate expansion with a minimum of fuss.
One trick I learned from first business was using a tag line to highlight service/products. So if you can’t get exactly the name/domain you want, can always use tag line to help get message across.
July 27, 2018 at 5:33 am #1215840Up::0Dear all, this case may interest those here with an interest in trademark infringement matters.
http://www.smuggled.com/Sportsbet-busted-taking-a-gamble-with-snake-man-registered-trademark-owned-by-Raymond-Hoser.htmSeptember 5, 2018 at 3:32 am #1215841Up::0Hi Jacqui,
do you advise it’s best to apply with your design mark (logo) rather than just the straight brand name /words? That is, does the uniqueness of a logo design help the application process and reduce the chances of a rejection?
thanks
JamieSeptember 5, 2018 at 3:45 am #1215842September 5, 2018 at 3:50 am #1215843Up::0Hi Jamie
The short answer is “maybe and it depends” – the longer answer:
If both the word mark and ‘logo’ mark appear available and acceptable I recommend registering BOTH (i.e. two trademarks). Registration of a word mark does not mean the logo is also a registered trademark and vice versa.
Word marks can provide stronger protection in terms of taking steps against infringement in the future if needed. If you register only your Logo mark, and someone uses a similar name but in a very different logo mark it can give them room to argue they’re not likely to be confused and there’s no infringement. If you have a word mark registered and someone uses that (or very similar) for similar activities, much harder for them to argue their mark (even if it’s a logo) is not confusingly similar.
That said, if there is a concern around the word mark (e.g. it’s too ‘generic’ to be accepted initially for trademark registration) then yes, I might recommend the client starts with a distinctive logo mark to help avoid objections.
Feel free to shoot me an email (jacqui@mmwtrademarks.com.au) with some more specific detail if you like Jamie and am happy to advise accordingly.
^^ above is information only and NOT legal advice – every case should be looked at on its own merits… these things don’t typically have a ‘one size fits all’ answer
September 5, 2018 at 3:50 am #1215844Up::0Peter – FS Administrator, post: 261669, member: 1 wrote:Good question! Just tagging in [USER=20176]@JacquiPryor[/USER] in case she’s aroundSnap Peter!
Yes, clearly around – thanks
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