ESSENDON CEO Ian Robson says the club is "fiercely protective" of its brand amid claims a Brisbane team bidding to join the NRL will do so using the name Brisbane Bombers.

The team hoping to join the NRL will unveil its plans on Thursday, but Robson said Essendon would seek legal help to avoid a breach of intellectual property.

"From our point of view, we're fiercely protective of who we are and what we stand for and ultimately that's represented by a whole range of things," Robson said on Thursday.

"That's the jumper, our colours and our logos, and the pragmatics of that is that the lawyers will look at all of these things to see if what's proposed crosses the line and they'll do their job and sort it out accordingly."

Robson said the club would work closely with the AFL, who own and protect all clubs' intellectual property, branding and logos, to clear the matter if the Brisbane bid is successful.

"I understand the emotion that lies behind this. We're a brand that's got 130 years in the making with successes on-field and a commitment off the field," Robson said.

"I can understand why somebody would look at our model and say 'Hey, we'd like to be able to replicate that', but as I say, the lawyers will deal with it and ensure we can move forward and be very proud of who we are'."

Robson said he was surprised the NRL didn't follow the AFL's lead by choosing new team names for the Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney franchises.

"You'd maybe like to think the issue of clutter could have been avoided if they had gone down a path the way the AFL has with the Suns and Giants finding new room to grow and new brands to build," he said.

"We always respect ambition to grow, but I'm just a little bit surprised and disappointed that they perhaps couldn’t have thought of something a little bit more original."

Callum Twomey covers Essendon news for afl.com.au and essendonfc.com.au. Follow him on Twitter at @Cal_Twomey.