Intellectual Property
The brand, the system and the know-how, protected
Trade marks, licensing, confidential information and the intellectual property inside a business sale or a franchise system. Registered where it should be, licensed on terms that hold, and enforced when someone crosses the line.
What we do
Intellectual property, by asset
Every business owns more intellectual property than it realises: a name, a logo, a customer list, an operations manual, a way of doing things. For a franchise system that property is the whole product. We identify what is there, secure it, and write the agreements that let it be used without being lost.
Brand
Trade marks that protect the name
Registered, in the right classes, owned by the right entity.
Systems
The know-how behind the business
Manuals, recipes, software and data, protected and licensed on your terms.
Enforcement
When someone uses what is yours
Cease and desist, negotiation and court where it is needed.
01
Trade marks
The name, the logo and the right to stop others using them
A business name registration gives you no exclusive rights. A registered trade mark does. We search before you commit to a name, file the application in the right classes, respond to examination reports and oppositions, and keep the registration alive. For a franchisor, the registered mark is the asset every franchise agreement licenses.
- Availability searches before you invest in a name
- Applications in Australia and overseas
- Examination reports, oppositions and renewals
- Assignments and recordal of ownership
02
Franchise and licensing IP
The system is the asset
A franchise agreement is, at its core, a licence of intellectual property: the brand, the manuals, the systems and the goodwill. The licence terms decide who owns improvements, what the franchisee may use and where, and what must be handed back on exit. We draft those terms for franchisors and read them for franchisees, and we have done it across 63 franchise systems since 2013.
03
Confidential information and trade secrets
What the business knows, and who is allowed to know it
Customer lists, pricing, supplier terms, recipes and methods are often worth more than anything registered, and they are protected only if they are treated as confidential. Non-disclosure agreements before a deal, confidentiality and restraint clauses in employment and contractor agreements, and a clear line on what leaves the building with a departing staff member.
- Non-disclosure agreements for deals and discussions
- Confidentiality and restraint clauses
- Contractor agreements that assign what is created
- Exit arrangements that protect the know-how
04
IP in business sales and structures
Owning it in the right entity, and transferring it properly
In a business sale, the intellectual property is usually the thing being bought, and it is often not owned by the entity selling it. We check who actually holds the marks, the domain names and the copyright, structure the assignment so the buyer gets what it paid for, and advise on holding intellectual property in a separate entity with a licence to the trading business.
05
Infringement and enforcement
When someone uses what is yours, or says you are using theirs
A competitor trading under a confusingly similar name, a former franchisee still using the brand, a supplier copying a design. We write the letter that stops it, pursue domain name and trade mark complaints, and litigate where that is the sensible path. We also act for businesses on the receiving end of a claim, where the first job is to work out whether the claim is real.
How we work
Three steps
01
An inventory of what you own
Names, marks, domains, content, systems and the agreements that govern them. Most businesses find gaps on the first pass.
02
Secure and document
Applications filed, ownership tidied into the right entity, and the licences and confidentiality terms put in writing, on a quoted fee.
03
Watch and enforce
Renewals diarised, and a plan for what happens when someone else starts using what is yours.
Who you will work with
Special Counsel
Rebecca McAllum
More than ten years across litigation, corporate and commercial law and regulatory matters, with a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Auckland and a Masters from Oxford. Rebecca is known for clear, strategic advice and for finding the practical outcome in a complex dispute.
Principal
Tsungai Mukushi
Principal of the firm, admitted in 2008 and a franchise and commercial lawyer since. Tsungai has established 63 franchise systems, acted on 399 business sales and acquisitions and resolved 162 disputes at mediation, and he owns and runs businesses of his own, so the advice starts with what the decision means commercially.
Consultant Lawyer
Damian Bourke
A lawyer, nationally accredited mediator and family dispute resolution practitioner, with thirty years in property development and finance and earlier work as a building surveyor and inspector. Damian has sat on the client’s side of complex deals and brings both commercial judgment and steadiness to a hard matter.
Legal Consultant
Ishani Perera
Extensive experience on complex corporate and commercial matters, drafting, reviewing and negotiating a wide range of commercial agreements. Ishani is pragmatic and detail-focused, and keeps matters moving so clients get a responsive, commercially sound result.
Client feedback
Voices of excellence
Live rating and reviews from the firm’s Google Business Profile.
Common questions
Intellectual property questions, answered
I have registered my business name. Is my brand protected?
No. A business name registration is an administrative requirement and gives no exclusive right to the name. Only a registered trade mark gives you the right to stop others using the same or a similar mark for the same kind of goods or services.
How long does a trade mark take to register?
A trade mark cannot be registered until at least seven months after filing, because of the examination and opposition periods. Where an examination report or an opposition is raised it takes longer. Protection runs from the filing date once registered, so filing early matters more than the wait.
Who owns work created by a contractor?
Unless the contract says otherwise, usually the contractor. A logo, a website, a manual or software built by an outside designer or developer can stay their property even though you paid for it. An assignment clause fixes that, and it is far easier to include at the start than to negotiate afterwards.
A competitor is using a name like mine. What can I do?
If you hold a registered trade mark, you have a direct claim for infringement. If you do not, the position rests on misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law and passing off, which depend on the reputation you can prove. Either way the first step is a letter, and most matters end there.
Also relevant
Related services
Related reading
Intellectual Property reading
Articles and briefings from the firm on this area. Plain English, no lecture.
Next step
A brand to protect, or a claim to answer?
Tell us what you own and what has happened, and we will tell you the next step and what it costs.