How Designers Legally Protect Their Brands

How Designers Legally Protect Their Brands

As a designer, your brand identity is everything—from the look and feel of your products to the name and logo that sets you apart. Trade marks protect the creative heart of your business and make sure your ideas stay yours. They’re more than logos or slogans: trade marks act as your brand’s badge of origin, guarantee quality for your customers, and help you stand out in a busy market.

Understanding and securing trade marks is vital for designers who want long-term business success. Whether you create fashion, interiors, graphics, or products, a registered trade mark gives you exclusive rights and stops others from copying your style, name, or ideas. It brings real value and credibility to your design work and offers legal clout if anyone ever tries to step too close.

Design Wise Legal is powered by Sharon Givoni Consulting, a leading Australian law firm specialising in trade marks, copyright, and design law for creatives. With practical advice and years of experience with designers and brands, Sharon Givoni Consulting can help you register, manage, and protect your trade marks—both in Australia and internationally.

If you want your work to stay recognisable, respected, and uniquely yours, Design Wise Legal backed by Sharon Givoni Consulting is here to guide you and turn your ideas into valuable business assets.

The Importance of Registering Your Trade Mark

A registered trade mark is your business’s legal badge of origin. Unlike mere business names or domain names, a registered trade mark gives you exclusive, Australia-wide rights to use that sign for your goods and services. It bolsters your brand value, fends off copycats, and builds the foundation for lasting customer trust and loyalty.

But be warned: just because a name or logo appears “available” on the register doesn’t guarantee you’ll get it. IP Australia—the office tasked with examining trade marks—applies a rigorous legal test. At its core? Distinctiveness.

What is a Distinctive Trade Mark?

A distinctive trade mark sets your brand apart from the crowd. This isn’t about being cool or creative (though that helps!)—it’s a legal question. A distinctive mark is one that, on first sight, uniquely signals your business as the source of goods/services, rather than simply describing what you do.

Famous brands

These famous brands bring the point home:

• Google: totally made-up, can’t be mistaken for any other service.
• Apple (for computers): a common word, but not descriptive of technology—instantly recognisable.
• Qantas: derived from “Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services”, yet distinctive due to its invented nature.

On the flip side, terms like “Best Cleaning Service” or “Fresh Bread Bakery” are basically advertising slogans—generic, descriptive, and unable to distinguish one trader from another.

The Trade Mark Process in Australia

Here’s how to explain the trade mark process for a blog, in simple paragraphs:

First, you start by filing your trade mark application. This could be for a business name, a logo, a slogan, or even a colour or sound. You say what you want to protect, and who owns it.

Next, your application goes to IP Australia for examination. The examiner checks if your trade mark is distinctive—that means, does it stand out and point only to your business? They’ll also see if it’s too close to someone else’s trade mark, or if there are any banned or offensive words.

If the examiner does find a problem—like your trade mark just describes what you sell, or looks a lot like another one—you’ll get a chance to respond or fix it. This notice is called an adverse report.

If your trade mark passes, it gets advertised publicly. Other people then have a short window of time to object if they think your trade mark will clash with theirs.

If no one objects successfully, your trade mark becomes registered. You get the exclusive right to use it in Australia for 10 years, with the option to renew it again and again.

At its heart, the examiner’s big question is: “Does this trade mark help people know it’s your product or service—not just any product?” That’s what being distinctive is all about.

Types of Distinctiveness (and What Trips People Up)

1. Descriptive & Laudatory Words

“Fresh and Tasty Pies” for pies? Descriptive and likely to be blocked.

“World’s Best Shoes” or “Super Fast Freight” are classic marketing fluff—laudatory phrases lauding product quality/speed, but not brand origin.

The lesson: steer clear of selling words that others will want to use to praise or describe their own goods.

2. Surnames

Common surnames like “Smith”, “Brown”, “Thompson”, “Taylor” or “Green” trip up many applicants. Why? The law assumes multiple traders have a legitimate interest in using their own surnames.

Yet it’s not impossible! If you can prove significant use—think decades of trading, advertising, or nationwide recognition—your surname can become a registered trade mark. “SMITHS” for crisps (the famous Australian chips) was registered after long use. “LEES” for sauces (as in the Lee Kum Kee case, the Chinese sauce giant) succeeded due to the unique and famous association with its goods.

Other examples where surnames “made it”:

• Greens (for baking mixes)
• Williams (for shoes)
• Campbell’s (for soups)
• Smiths (for chips)
• Fowler’s (for preserving equipment)

If your name is unusual, you’re in luck—it’s more likely to be accepted from the outset.

3. Geographical Terms
The law is strict here—for good reason. You can’t lock up names people need to use to refer to places.

“Queensland Mangoes” for fruit: purely descriptive, unlikely to be accepted.

“Sydney Plumbing” for plumbing services? Problematic, as many traders offer these services in Sydney.

4. Quirky Add-Ons: Prefixes, Titles, and “Mr.”

Sometimes, adding a quirk can tip a mark from bland to brand. Prefixes (“Mr Bun” for bakeries), invented blends (“Mondelez”), or unusual combinations (“Miss Maud”) can help—but beware, merely tacking on “Mr” or “Dr” won’t get you home if the rest is still considered descriptive.

Tips for Ensuring Your Trade Mark Is Distinctive

Invent new words (Kodak, Exxon).

Use a surname, only if you can prove long-standing, exclusive use.

Coin unique combinations.

Avoid direct descriptions or praise.

Play with sound, stylisation, or made-up phrases.

Steer clear of popular locations unless the connection is quirky or non-obvious.

Products may be made in a factory / brands are created in the mind

Products may be made in a factory, but brands are created in the mind. As Walter Landor famously said, what makes your design business memorable isn’t just what you produce—it’s the feeling, reputation, and identity your trade mark helps build. Protecting your creative identity means ensuring your customers see your brand, trust it, and remember it—long after the first sale.

Key Takeaways

A distinctive trade mark is your business’s best legal shield and commercial calling card. Avoid the trap of being too descriptive, generic, or geographically bound. Think Apple, not “Best Computers.” Push your creativity, and if your brand includes your family name or a local suburb, be ready to prove it’s uniquely yours.

Deciding which marks are “distinctive” isn’t always clear-cut. There’s a lot of grey area and subjectivity in how trade marks are assessed—for example, whether a surname, a place name, or a creative word is truly unique for your business, or just something lots of others might want to use.​

That’s why working with an experienced lawyer or trade mark expert is invaluable. A good lawyer can guide you through the fuzzy judgment calls, make strong arguments, and draw on real experience with the tricky aspects of registration. They know how to present your brand in the best light and what proof is needed so your mark stands out and gets protected in Australia.

Every application and every brand is different. The law isn’t always black and white, and being able to navigate these grey areas is exactly what gets results.

Not sure if your proposed trade mark will cut it? Get advice from a specialist. Creative thinking paired with smart evidence can mean the difference between a rejected dream and a trademarked success.

For more smart brand protection tips, contact Sharon Givoni Consulting or visit our resources library today!

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Please note the above article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice.

Please email us info@iplegal.com.au if you need legal advice about your brand or another legal matter in this area generally.