Protecting Your Aesthetic Clinic:An IP Health Check for ANZ Practice Owners

In aesthetics, your devices depreciate. Your brand doesn’t. And yet many clinics invest heavily in marketing while leaving their intellectual property exposed. Below is a practical IP health check for Australian and New Zealand clinic owners focused on commercial reality rather than legal jargon.

1. Intellectual Property Is Often Your Most Valuable Asset

Your fit-out looks expensive. Your brand is priceless.

In aesthetic medicine, brand equity is not cosmetic - it is commercial. When clinics are acquired, merged, or valued for sale, due diligence increasingly focuses on trade marks, digital assets, databases, and brand protection. Unregistered IP weakens sale price and increases buyer risk.

High-profile disputes such as the Australian case involving Katy Perry and fashion designer Katie Taylor reinforced a simple principle: registration matters. Even globally recognised brands can lose when formal trade mark rights sit elsewhere.

Aesthetic-specific exposure points include:

• Creating a signature treatment journey under a branded name without registering it.

• Launching white-label skincare or devices without protecting the product brand separately.

• Assuming business name registration equals protection.

• Securing social media handles and believing this creates ownership rights.

White-label products represent a separate and valuable IP category — covering formulation, packaging, naming, and sub-brand architecture. Signature treatment names may also qualify for separate registration distinct from the clinic name.

Business name registration does not equal trade mark protection. A social handle does not equal a registered brand.

• IP directly impacts valuation.

• Signature treatment names can be registrable.

• White-label ranges are standalone IP assets.

• Digital ownership does not equal legal ownership.

2. TM vs ® — What’s the Difference and Why It Matters

One is a flag. The other is a fence.

TM indicates you are claiming the trade mark but it is unregistered. ® indicates the trade mark is officially registered.

Australian Government filing costs (approximate):

• Standard trade mark application (per class): From $250–$400 per class.

• Additional class: Additional government fee per class.

• Renewal (every 10 years): Renewal fee applies.

Professional trade mark attorney fees typically range from $800 to $2,500+ depending on complexity.

TM (Unregistered):

• Must prove reputation, confusion, and financial loss.

• Relies on passing off and consumer law.

® (Registered):

• Provides statutory rights in nominated classes.

• Enforcement is clearer and stronger.

Clinic owners can submit trade mark applications themselves. However, incorrect class selection or failure to identify conflicting marks can weaken protection. Trade mark attorneys provide strategic advice on class structure, defensibility, and conflict searches.

If a competitor registers your trading name, you may need to prove prior use, established reputation, likelihood of confusion, and measurable loss. Compensation typically reflects actual financial loss or account of profits rather than punitive windfalls.

Copying website content presents additional risk. Copyright protects original written expression, and there is no fixed word-count threshold. Copying structure or distinctive phrasing may constitute infringement. From an SEO perspective, duplicate content weakens Google discoverability and authority signals.

Prevention is commercially cheaper than enforcement.

• TM vs ® distinction clarified.

• Government costs outlined.

• DIY vs attorney considerations.

• Enforcement and compensation realities.

• Duplicate website content risks.

3. IP and Third Parties: Agencies, Contractors & Casual Hires

If you paid for it, you probably don’t own it — unless it’s in writing.

In Australia and New Zealand, contractors generally retain copyright unless ownership is formally assigned in writing. Payment alone does not transfer IP rights.

Example contract clause wording, but note it’s worth having your legal advisor review your service contracts at least once:

“All intellectual property rights, including copyright and trade mark rights, in any materials created under this agreement are assigned to [Clinic Entity Name] upon full payment. The contractor waives any moral rights to the extent permitted by law.”

Additional clauses should include:

• Confidentiality obligations.

• Warranty of originality.

• Assistance with future trade mark registration.

• Clear digital account ownership and access controls.

If clinics have already paid without formal contracts, retrospective assignment deeds may be negotiated. In some cases, courts recognise implied licences, but relying on this creates uncertainty and cost.

Enforcement is not a strategy. Prevention is.

If you haven’t documented first use, registered key assets and clarified ownership, your leverage in a dispute drops dramatically.

• Contractor default ownership rules.

• Essential assignment wording.

• Retrospective fixes available but imperfect.

• Digital control requires formal documentation.

5. The Brand Armour Audit™ — Your Aesthetic Clinic IP Health Check

Think of this as a snippet of your clinical audit — but for your brand.

Trade Marks

• Have you searched IP Australia/IPONZ databases?

• Is your clinic name registered?

• Are signature treatment names protected?

• Are white-label products registered separately?

Digital Assets

• Do you own key domains (.com, .com.au, .co.nz)?

• Are domains registered in the company entity?

• Are social handles secured consistently?

Contracts & Ownership

• Do agency contracts assign IP to your entity?

• Do contractor agreements include ownership clauses?

• Do employment agreements include confidentiality provisions?

Exit & Risk Controls

• Is there a digital access revocation process?

• Are patient image rights clearly documented?

• Are supplier agreements clear on brand ownership?

Clinics should conduct this audit annually or prior to any sale, merger, or significant expansion.

References & Action Links

• IP Australia — https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au

• IPONZ — https://www.iponz.govt.nz

• auDA — https://www.auda.org.au