Registering hobby as a copyright/trademark?

[monalisa]

Hi all

My sister and I are in the process of establishing a website - it would be classified as a "hobby" at this point in time - with a view that there are endless possibilities as to where it may head.

Wish there was was a crystal ball to determine how things will pan out, however I was wondering if we need to be doing something to protect our idea?

I have already checked whether we could have an ABN to give it more formality - however "hobbyists" cannot have an ABN - which is totally understandable as it is not a business.

Other considerations include:

- We have registered a ".com", but we were wondering if we should register other domain names with ".com.au" ".net" ".org" etc? Because there may be a possibility that people may misuse the name of the website;
- Should there be a copyright/trademark (I am in process of researching these)?

Would like to hear your thoughts!

Thanks
Mona

 

[D.T.]

1) Copyrights are not registered, only trademarks are. Anything you make/do, the copyright belongs to you (unless employment contract or something like that says otherwise).

2) To register a .com.au you need to have a company name (with ACN) that matches the domain name. You need to supply proof of this and there is an approval process (unlike a .com which everyone can get).

 

[MsAli]

1) Copyrights are not registered, only trademarks are. Anything you make/do, the copyright belongs to you (unless employment contract or something like that says otherwise).

I'm not sure how to phrase this...but if "copyrights are not registered" how do companies like Nike (for example) protect their slogan "Just Do It" ?

 

[cu@thetop]

I'm not sure how to phrase this...but if "copyrights are not registered" how do companies like Nike (for example) protect their slogan "Just Do It" ?

They register them as trademarks:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/

 

[Terry_w]

I'm not sure how to phrase this...but if "copyrights are not registered" how do companies like Nike (for example) protect their slogan "Just Do It" ?

Trademark.

 

[Terry_w]

1) Copyrights are not registered, only trademarks are. Anything you make/do, the copyright belongs to you (unless employment contract or something like that says otherwise).

2) To register a .com.au you need to have a company name (with ACN) that matches the domain name. You need to supply proof of this and there is an approval process (unlike a .com which everyone can get).

Dave. This is not the case anymore. I just registered terryw.com.au and have registered another one recently and no proof was requested or needed.

 

[Terry_w]

They register them as trademarks:
http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/

Sorry CU i didn't see this before I posted - opened the page 2 hours ago and only replied now.

 

[cu@thetop]

Sorry CU i didn't see this before I posted - opened the page 2 hours ago and only replied now.

No probs- any way there is no copyright in an idea anyway

 

[Terry_w]

No probs- any way there is no copyright in an idea anyway

That reminds me of a solicitor who tried to patent an asset protection strategy and failed. He sought leave to appeal to high court and failed.

 

[cu@thetop]

That reminds me of a solicitor who tried to patent an asset protection strategy and failed. He sought leave to appeal to high court and failed.

Forget the guys name but he was here in Qld- I think he was taking out ads in Proctor (solicitor trade journal) warning people of his pending patent and inviting people to treat with him now if they wanted to use the system. He was a lawyer in Fortitude Valley- the Bris equivalent of King's Cross. A real wally.

 

[beachgurl]

Have you conducted a search of the trade marks register to determine if anyone else has registered the name you wish to use? That is more the issue for you at this point rather than seeking registration for it. Trade mark registration is effective in taking action against others for using an identical or similar trade mark so it does give you a broader scope of protection than if you just have the business name registered (you'd only have common law rights without a trade mark registration).

As there is no obligation to register a trade mark as soon as you launch a product or start using it (unlike a patent) you can hold off on registration if funds are tight at this stage.

 

[monalisa]

Thank you all for your responses.

Appears no other businesses exist with the name we have come up with... the name is very cheesy hence the concern....

Budget is definitely limited as it is not for profit (who knows though if it takes off?). We are unsure about how we will build the audience for the website; facebook and twitter pages have been set up.

I am going to do some research on marketing online over the next week and see how we can attract the target audience - and once we are past this stage, we will revisit and see what else we need to invest in (trademarks, corporate structure for asset protection etc).

Thanks again

 

[Aaron Sice]

1) Copyrights are not registered, only trademarks are. Anything you make/do, the copyright belongs to you (unless employment contract or something like that says otherwise).

2) To register a .com.au you need to have a company name (with ACN) that matches the domain name. You need to supply proof of this and there is an approval process (unlike a .com which everyone can get).

really? my name isnt a pty ltd but i have a .com.au.....?