How to do a trade mark search in Australia

Changing a name costs almost nothing before you've printed anything. Six months in, with signage, packaging, a website and customers who know you by it, it costs a lot more.

It matters even more if you plan to apply for your own trade mark. IP Australia says a mark can only be accepted if it's sufficiently different to others, and registering one takes at least 7 months and costs a minimum of $250, so it's worth knowing what's already there before you pay. And the window for objecting to someone else's application is short: once an accepted application is advertised, anyone can oppose it, but only for two months. Our guide to opposing a trade mark covers how that works.

Say you're about to open Bluegum Bakery (an invented name). A search for BLUEGUM BAKERY might come back empty, and that tells you very little. The word that makes the name yours is BLUEGUM, so that's what to search, along with the ways someone else might have written it:

• BLUEGUM on its own, without the word that describes what you sell
• other spellings and spacing, such as BLUE GUM and BLU GUM
• plurals, such as BLUEGUMS
• names that sound the same, such as BLOOGUM

IP Australia's search has a tool for each of these. Its phonetic search returns words that may sound similar, and its fuzzy search finds words that differ by a few characters. It picks up singular, regular plural and possessive endings by itself. An asterisk stands for any number of characters and a question mark for exactly one, so BLUEGUM* finds every mark that starts with BLUEGUM.

IP Australia sorts all goods and services into 45 classes. Classes 1 to 34 are for goods and 35 to 45 are for services. A trade mark is granted only for the goods or services in the application, not for everything.

That's why a match in one class can matter far more than the same match in another. BLUEGUM registered for paints (class 2) is a different situation from BLUEGUM for bread and cakes (class 30) or for a café (class 43). A bakery with a café counter could sit in both of those last two.

Search with the class filter on first, then again with it off. A mark in a neighbouring class can still be relevant, and it's better to see it now than after you've launched. Our guide to trade mark classes explains how to work out which ones fit your business, and the list of all 45 classes shows what each covers.

Start with our free trade mark search. It compares your name with every Australian trade mark that has words in it, including lapsed and refused ones, using spelling, sound and shared words, and sorts the matches into high, medium and low similarity.

Then go to IP Australia's Australian Trade Mark Search, which has the details of registered and pending trade marks. You can search by word, phrase, image, owner, or goods and services. Open anything close and read two things: its status, and the goods and services it covers.

For a brand-new name, IP Australia also has TM Checker, a free app that helps you decide whether a trade mark is likely to run into problems when it's examined. IP Australia notes that its results can't promise an outcome if you go on to apply.

Two more places are worth a look, even though neither is a trade mark register. ASIC's business names register lets you search by business name or by the holder, and most of what it shows is free. ASIC also has a separate business name availability search. Business names are registered with ASIC and trade marks with IP Australia, and ASIC says only a trade mark gives exclusive rights to a name. Our guide to business names and trade marks explains the difference. Last, check whether the .com.au and .au domain names are taken. A registered domain isn't a trade mark either, but it tells you someone is already using the name.

Every record on IP Australia's register has a status, and IP Australia groups them into pending, registered, refused, removed and never registered.

A pending application has been filed and is waiting to be examined or is being examined. Accepted means an examiner has accepted it. Once the acceptance is advertised, anyone has two months to oppose it. Both kinds count: each is on its way to becoming a registered trade mark.

A registered mark is on the register and within its 10-year registration period. Watch for one status in this group, "Expired Renewal Possible". It means the registration has expired without the renewal fee being paid, but the owner can still renew it.

Lapsed applications sit in the never registered group. An application lapses when it isn't accepted, when the registration fee isn't paid on time, or when the applicant doesn't defend an opposition. Refused means it was rejected at examination or refused after a successful opposition. Removed means a registered mark was taken off the register, for example because a renewal fee wasn't paid or after a non-use action.

A search shows what's on the register on the day you run it. It can't show:

• a business that's using the name without having registered it
• whether an examiner would accept your application
• how a dispute between two names would turn out

The register also keeps moving. In our records, 98,048 applications were filed in Australia between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026, about 8,200 a month. A clear search today can have a close match next month.

So a search result is information about the register. It isn't a legal opinion, and a clear result doesn't mean a name is safe to use.

If nothing close turns up, the next risk is a new filing. A trade mark watch covers that: it checks each new application against your name, so you hear about a close one while there's still time to oppose it.

If something close does turn up, particularly a pending or registered mark in one of your classes, that's the point to talk to a trade marks professional, before you file or launch. IP Australia makes the same point: for more certainty that a trade mark is available and likely to be registrable, it says you may wish to seek professional advice.

Is a trademark search free in Australia?

Our free trade mark search costs nothing, and neither does IP Australia's TM Checker. Most of the information on ASIC's business names register is free as well.

Does a search show pending applications?

Yes. Australian Trade Mark Search has registered and pending trade marks, and each record shows its status. Our free check includes them too, with lapsed and refused marks listed separately.

What if the name is registered in a different class?

A registration covers only the goods or services it was granted for, so a mark with your name for unrelated goods is a different situation from one in your own class.

Someone has already filed my business name. What now?

It depends on how far the application has gone. Our guide on what to do if someone trade marks your business name goes through the options at each stage.

• Search existing trade marks (IP Australia)
• Australian Trade Mark Search help (IP Australia)
• TM Checker (IP Australia)
• What are classes of goods and services (IP Australia)
• Trade mark timeframes and fees (IP Australia)
• What to consider before applying for a trade mark (IP Australia)
• Business names register (ASIC)
• Business names and trade marks (ASIC)
• CopyCatcher's own figures: IP Australia's IP RAPID data and Trade Mark Search API for applications filed from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026, as held on 6 October 2026.