Do I Need To Register My Own Trade Mark Within Australia, The Australian Trade Mark Registration Regulations

By Claire Gray


There may be a great deal of bafflement in relation to trade mark law, business titles, internet domain names and also whether it is advisable to sign up your own trade mark in Australia. This post gives an analysis of what a trade mark is regarded as, why a trade mark could be essential and the worth of registering the trade mark in Australia. This should not be taken as legal advice and you ought to check with some sort of intellectual property attorney or patent attorney to get clarification for your individual business circumstances.

What Is A Trade Mark?

Most of us are familiar with the trade mark and also the registered trade mark symbolic representation. This kind of symbol is utilized to indicate a unique identifier of your brand and can be often considered as an identity. A trade symbol can be quite a variety of things that can include a company logo, a phrase as well as statement, a sound, odor or pattern or maybe a mix of all of these. Once you've appropriately recorded your trade mark, it marks a difference relating to your items in comparison with someone else's and then in the region you've registered the trade mark, no-one else can be allowed to work with it. This is enforceable inside of the Intellectual Property laws of that particular nation.

Must You Register Your Own Trade Mark?

There are actually benefits to registering a trade mark around Australia nonetheless it is not a requirement for anyone to register your trade mark so that it is enforceable within common law if somebody starts to utilize it without having your permission. Should you not register your current trade mark you cannot utilize the R symbol in a circle but you can use a TM symbol. Should you not register your current trade mark, even though there is protection against individuals misrepresenting within fair trade laws and industry practices but in fact it might be a costly and time consuming process to act under common laws and in reality it can be full of trouble.

Is It Conceivable To Register My Own Trade Mark?

Certainly not everything can be trade marked within Australia. By way of example you are unable to trade mark widespread names which might be utilized throughout a complete sector. Here's an illustration of a term people could not trade mark within an industry heating - heating industry. Simply because there isn't anything distinctive about the term which is in common use across this industries. If you have a custom logo which was fashioned in a very unique way for this term it could be actually possible to trade mark the exact logo design it.

Furthermore there are specific things that can't be trade marked under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, that Australia became a member state of on 10 October 1925 and is administered by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO.) Included in this are such things as flags, emblems along with official signs.

Just What Are The Advantages Of Trade Mark Registration Within Australia?

There are many of benefits linked to registering a trade mark in Australia. Firstly, should you be creating a brand to carry a reputation it is usually a good means to assist the general public recognize your product or service plus distinguish it from others. Furthermore, as the owner of a registered trade mark you will have the exclusive rights to make use of it as specified by the registration, in addition to being in a position to protect against other people from utilizing it. You can utilize the registered trade mark symbol and the registration normally covers the complete commonwealth of Australia. It's also possible to supply the Australian Customs Service a notice objecting to the importation of products or even services that will infringe a registered trade mark. If someone else does indeed infringe your trade mark you will be in a very much more powerful position in comparison to what you'd be by having an unregistered trade mark and this will mean that the procedure of blocking them using your trade mark will likely be less costly and much less time consuming.

What Is The Trade Mark Registration Procedure Within Australia?

The typical course of action regarding trade mark registration in Australia is not really complicated from a high level view. First of all you will have to perform a trade mark lookup to see if there are any kind of trade marks being used which may stop you from intricate a trade mark in Australia. After this you have to make an application to get an Australian trade mark and then wait for an examination report to get returned to you after IP Australia have analyzed the application, to make sure that it does not conflict with any kind of existing trade marks. If at this point there are any kind of inadequacies inside your application you're going to be advised of them within the report and you'll have a time scale of Fifteen months to get over these objections. In the event that there aren't any objections the following step is that your application will be accepted and published. Your trade mark application will be published for three months within the Official Journal of Trade Marks which gives any 3rd party the chance during this time to oppose your trade mark request. In the event that no objections are submitted against your application and you've paid the appropriate fees, your trade mark application will be registered and it is instantly enforceable as per the advantages segment previously mentioned.

How Much Time Is A Trade Mark Registration Good For?

The excellent thing is that your trade mark can be renewed forever, although initial registration is good for a time period of 10 years, meaning that you will need to renew it each and every 10 years for your trade mark to stay constantly in place. You could have a trade mark taken away or possibly partially removed for some goods or services if you do not use it, which is called an application for removal for non-use. If somebody files this sort of application against you, you will subsequently be advised by the registrar and you've got 3 months from that time to fight the removal. Should you not file to oppose the removal, your trade mark has to be removed from the register therefore it is imperative that you keep your contact info up to date with the registrar.




About the Author: