Business & Property Law

Business names must be registered and it is an offence to carry on business under an unregistered name.  The types of entities that can trade under a business name are a company, partnership, sole trader or trust.   However a company, trust or sole trader can trade under their actual names without having a registered business name. A partnership can trade under the names of the partners eg MP & DK Jones with no registered business name.

Ownership of a web domain eg JonesBros.com.au implies that a business is being carried on under the registered domain name and thus such name should be registered as a business name, in this case: Jones Brothers.  It is also important to check that the name is not already taken by an existing business or company before you begin to trade.

Registering a business name does not grant the same exclusive rights or privileges to the use of the name as a trademark would.

For advice on registering your business name, consult one of our experienced lawyers today.

When starting your company, it is important to note that compared to other business structures, it has different responsibilities regarding finance, governance and record keeping.

Before you register a company, consider its proposed structure, who will be its members (shareholders), who will have decision making powers (directors), whether different classes of shareholders will have different rights and responsibilities and how and to whom dividends should be distributed.

For advice on registering your company, consult one of our experienced lawyers today.

Even if you have registered a business, company or domain name, it does not automatically prevent third parties from using your business name as their brand and/or trademark.

A trademark allows you to obtain exclusive rights for your brand in relation to the goods and services that you provide.

It also removes the opportunity for third party organisations to use your business name and/or symbols.

For advice on registering a trade mark, consult one of our experienced lawyers today.

A Discretionary Trust can be established relatively simply by a written Deed.  You will need to consider who will be trustee of the Trust, whether it be yourself, as an individual, or a corporate trustee.

You also need to ensure that the Trust is set up before you acquire any assets that are intended to be in the name of the trust.

Ownership of a unique web domain name does not establish a separate legal entity in that name. It does however imply that the owner is carrying on business in that name, thus necessitating registration of that name as a business name.

If another person registers a domain that is identical to your registered business name, they may be compelled to cease using the name if in doing so they would be considered to be “passing off” as similar business. The only benefit of registering a website name that is identical to the business name of a competitor is that the party registering the name may be able to sell it to the competitor.

If your website is principally for eCommerce – ie the online sale of goods – you need a comprehensive set of terms and conditions that deal with payment, delivery, risk and liabilities.

For advice on website terms and conditions, consult one of our experienced lawyers today.