You referred to registering and protecting a name. FIRST you must carry out preliminary phone directory searches to see if it's already registered and protected. If your favored name, say Wolf Whistle, is already in use, you may have trouble registering it, but maybe not if it's Wolf Whistle Milk Bar at Dubbo.

  1. Go to the internet: www.yellowpages.com.au
  2. And to www.whitepages.com.au

SECOND try Business Names Registration Office. In Sydney it's (02) 9619 8700. They will search for you while you hang on the phone. To register is $100, lasts 3 years, and only in NSW. However their name search not only covers Business Names, but also the names of companies, which is national, so they can alert you to say a similar name in another state. You can search yourself on www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au but this site is difficult, I think. Best to call.

THIRD go for the best protection of all, a trademark. Try the IP Australia. It won't give you any information over the phone. But you can search their register of trademarks via the internet on: www.ipaustralia.gov.au Go to "Search our databases". Go to "ATMOSS". Go to "Start". Go to "Single Session Connection". Go to button marked "Create New Connection". Leave "exact word" on screen. Write in [your word/s]. Go to button marked "search now".