NOA The Brand, a wireless charging tech platform, discovered the importance of checking trade mark availability before getting too far down the line with branding.

Seven years ago, then-furniture designer Christel Hadiwibawa was developing a desk organiser when she realised it needed a wireless charging feature.

But not just any wireless charging tech – something faster, stronger and more energy-efficient.

“I got together with two other colleagues and as we were exploring this whole idea of collaborating on a wireless charging solution, we realised this has to be its own venture, separate to what I was doing as a product designer,” she tells Business Builders.

Over years of development, and changing their target market from consumers to businesses, NOA The Brand launched a cutting-edge hardware and software wireless charging platform with 10 times more power and 35 per cent more efficiency than existing charging standards.

To match their bold innovation, the brand name came from some divine inspiration. “Noah’s Ark was built to save the world from the great flood and we wanted to exist to save the world from the flood of cords and cables,” says Christel.

Protecting their unique brand

Safeguarding intellectual property (IP) became a key consideration. Christel knew she might have to patent the tech given it’s a new invention, but one thing she didn’t initially consider was registering the brand’s trade mark.

“Having owned previous businesses, I knew about trade marks but didn’t look too deeply into them,” Christel admits.

She’s not alone: Less than 7 per cent of Aussie businesses own registered IP rights, according to IP Australia, the government agency that administers IP rights and legislation for patents, trade marks, design rights and plant breeder’s rights (PBR).

And yet, it’s all too easy to unknowingly infringe on another’s trade mark or leave your own brand open to challenges.

“Once I started to educate myself, I realised we had to register our trade mark to protect our brand identity,” Christel says.

NOA’s bespoke wireless charging technology product. Image: NOA The Brand

A trade mark check

While businesses can easily check existing trade marks using IP Australia’s free TM Checker, it wasn’t something that Christel knew about when landing on the name ‘NOA’.

“At the time we were so excited about wanting to build a product as opposed to the branding, that we just went for it and got rid of the ‘H’ in the name,” she said.

When it came time to register the trade mark, Christel learned that a couple of other companies had adopted that same name.

Fortunately, these businesses fell into different trade mark ‘classes’ or sectors. But adding ‘The Brand’ would help distinguish ‘NOA’, and contain a nice hidden meaning when said quickly: ‘no other brand’.

Registering more than just the name

Christel and her team could register ‘NOA The Brand’ as a trade mark in their selected class – while finding a few other ways to protect the brand.

“To meet our needs, we ended up filing five trade marks, covering our logo and various versions of our business name, including NOA The Brand and NOA,” Christel explains.

While Christel saw the benefit in registering numerous trade marks, small businesses can choose to register just one trade mark, or as many as they need to in order to protect their brand or specific product lines within their brand.

In Christel and her co-founders’ case, safeguarding their brand identity will play a key role in helping them innovate significantly in their market.

“We’re reimagining how drones, industrial robotics and autonomous systems operate,” she says. “We want to be part of the solution of making wireless charging for these emerging technologies as seamless as possible.”

For companies seeking investment, protecting brand identity is crucial. “Private funding support required us to demonstrate to investors how we are safeguarding our branding and other IP,” Christel says. “Identity is everything, so we wanted to reinforce to funders the idea that it’s a valuable asset for us to protect.”

Christel – who says her company may be tweaking its branding again and filing additional trade marks – advises fellow entrepreneurs to prioritise trade mark registration.

“Consider the cost of not protecting your brand identity,” she says. “If you truly value what you’re trying to create, why wouldn’t you protect it?”

Key things for small businesses to know about trade marks:

1. What is a trade mark?

Trade marks are a form of intellectual property right that protects your brand and differentiates your product or service in the marketplace. They can cover logos, phrases, words, and even sounds or smells, as well as an aspect of packaging.

The ‘TM’ symbol stands for trade mark. While it tells others you’re claiming trade mark rights, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the rights exist, or are registrable or enforceable. However, this can help you in obtaining registration or providing your claim to legal rights in the trade mark later. The ‘R’ in a circle denotes a registered status.

A registered trade mark affirms your business’s authenticity and commitment to quality, and can deter others from using similar names. Although defending a trade mark can be costly, often a ‘cease and desist’ letter suffices.

2. What does a trade mark protect?

An Australian trade mark provides protection only within Australia. If you plan to expand globally, you’ll need international trade marks, though having a registered trade mark in Australia can simplify the process of registering overseas.

Existing similar trade marks might hinder your registration efforts, or lead you to infringe on others’ trade marks. IP Australia provides resources for searching existing trade marks.

And be aware that it’s difficult to trade mark descriptive words, geographical places and common surnames, so make sure your trade mark contains something unique that other people in your industry wouldn’t need to use.

3. How do you apply for a trade mark?

IP Australia’s TM Checker should be your first port of call – it can guide you through the process if you want to apply to register your own trade mark, with registration costs potentially as low as $330 for 10-year protection.

4. Do they protect domain names and registered business names?

Trade marks, business names and domain names serve different purposes. Unlike business names, which can’t stop others from adopting a similar name to yours, a trade mark provides legal recourse against those who do have a similar name if it could confuse customers.

A domain name simply secures an online address (URL) without IP protection.

5. What about patents?

Patents protect new inventions such as devices, substances, methods and processes. The key thing to remember about securing a patent is that your invention must be novel, so keep it a secret to have the best chance of successful registration.

Find out more on how to search existing trade marks on IP Australia’s website and try the free TM Checker today.

Want help supporting your business from startup to scaleup? The Small Business, Big Dreams factsheet provides details on free government services and programs to support businesses, from idea to brand strategy to go-to market.

This article is brought to you by Business Builders in partnership with IP Australia.

This article is intended to provide general information regarding intellectual property and does not constitute legal or professional advice. It is not intended to take the place of legal or professional advice and should not be relied upon as such.

Feature image: Left to right – NOA The Brand electronic engineer Christopher William with co-founders Christel Hadiwibawa and Arvin Bayat.