Trade marks are the essence of franchising. 

All franchise systems strive for widespread recognition of their 'brand'. A common thread between successful franchise systems is that their customers receive a consistent level of quality in goods and services provided under instantly recognisable trade marks. 

However, there are often complexities in the registration and use of trade marks within a franchise system. For franchisors, getting the licensing right is not always clear cut, nor is being able to secure registrations for new products. On the other hand, franchisees will often enhance the reputation of a trade mark, but have no ownership interest and can carry the risk of infringing a competitor's trade mark. 

This article explores the importance of trade marks to a franchise system, and the key parties involved in it.

As most people would likely be aware (and as Holman Webb has previously stated), trade marks are vital business assets - with dozens of trade mark applications being filed every day in Australia. With this in mind, if your application is not up to scratch, significant issues can arise down the track which may prove to be unresolvable.

Trade marks are core assets of many businesses, although unfortunately in Holman Webb's experience - they are often overlooked.

A few recent cases have highlighted just how important it is to ensure your trade mark arrangements are in place and, just as importantly, effective.

it is crucial to keep in mind that registering a trade mark is not the end of the process; there have been many cases of businesses ‘setting and forgetting’ their marks, only to have their registrations challenged.