Trademark Registration in Australia

Australia is a member of the Madrid Protocol. Trademark protection is achieved by registration. Not registered trademarks may also be imposed under common law and the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 if they have enough public attention. A trademark registration gives the best way to protect your names, logos, and brands.

A registered trademark is the best way to preserve your branding including business name and logo. A registered Australian trademark gives you Australia wide rights and provides relatively easy implementation of your trademark rights. Many individuals and businesses either do not protect their trademark or wrongly file their trademark which results in the trademark being unenforceable or likely infringing the trademark rights of a 3rd party.

A registered trademark gives you a legally enforceable independent right to use the trademark for the goods and services for which the trademark is registered. A registered trademark may be licensed or traded and enables you to build a valuable business asset in your brand.

Only a registered trademark gives you the direct Australia wide exclusive right to a company name, business name, and logo or domain name.

Trademark rights can proceed without registration and these rights are referred to as common law or unregistered trademark rights. Common law trademark rights typically arise from the reputation of the mark resulting from extensive and continued use of the mark.

But, it is typically much simpler to enforce a registered trademark as a registered trademark automatically gives a right which is Australia wide without needing to give extensive evidence of use which is required to execute a common law trademark.

Without a trademark, you will find it hard to protect your most valuable business asset and prevent other people from using your name.

Trademarkcart register and maintain trademarks across the world for businesses both large and small. We can file straight in several countries including Australia.

Please note that you will require the following information to apply online:

• The name you would like to protect

• The categories in which you would like to register the Trade Mark. We have given a complete breakdown of all the categories of goods and services. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding this.

• The name of the proposed registrant of the trademark – this can be either an individual or a company name.

• The address for the owner of the Trade Mark – this can be any address worldwide

Trade Mark Classes

Trade Marks are registered for the goods and services for which you do business. You will require to determine which classes best represent your business activities. You should also think about what you may be using your name for in the next few years, as this may be more than you currently use the name for today. It is usually more cost-effective to register more classes at the same time, as marks cannot be joined to in the future.

There are currently 45 trademark classes, 34 of which link to physical goods, the others of which link to services.

From the date of filing, the trademark registration in Australia is valid for 10 years. Trademarks may be renewed for continuous periods of 10 years within 12 months before the expiry of the validity term.

What Can Be Trademarked?

• Name

  A name including personal or surname of the applicant or predecessor in business or the signature of the person e.g, the name Dhirubai Ambani can be trademarked.

• Word

  A word which is not being directly descriptive of the character or quality of the goods / service. For example Google is a word which has been trademarked.

• Numbers

  Alphanumeric or Letters or numerals or any combination thereof. For example 555 brand.

• Images

  Image, symbol, monograms, 3-dimensional shapes, letters etc. For example the tick in Nike logo.

• Sound

  Sound marks in audio format. For ex the sound in the ad jingle.

Who Can Apply For Trademarked ?

Any person or business claiming to be owner can apply for a trademark including :

• Individual

• Corporation

• Limited Liability Company

• Partnership

• Limited Partnership

• Joint Venture

• Sole Proprietorship

• Trust

It is preferable that you apply for the trademark as an individual. In a case of a proprietor or company, if you close or change the name of the business, your trademark will become invalid. However, in a case of an individual, this problem won’t arise.

Trademark Law in Australia

Australian trademark law is based on common-law use-based rights also the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth), which is determined by IP Australia, an Australian government along with the Department of Industry, Innovation, and Science.

Use-based rights are restricted to registration, and depend on the mark has gained a reputation in the area in which a company seeks to complete its common-law trademark. Registration gives benefits such as constructive notice and nationwide rights.

Among other things, the Trade Marks Act defines trademarks including certification marks and collective marks, which constitutes trademark infringement, protection and exceptions thereto, and together with the Trade Marks Regulations sets out procedures for registration and other procedures before the Registrar of Trade Marks. The legislation does not codify the law of trademarks in Australia, as a common law jurisdiction, a trademark owner try to protect its rights by legal proceedings for passing off.

Section 17 of the Trade Marks Act defines a trademark as a sign used, or intended to be used, to distinguish goods or services dealt with or provided in the course of trade by a person from goods or services so dealt with or given by any other person.

The procedure to register a trademark in Australia is the same as in different countries. A completed application is filed with IP Australia. This is always done electronically, the former regional offices and standard paper forms have been terminated. The application is then checked examined by an examiner of trademarks for compliance with formalities and substantive requirements. The Australian Trade Marks Office Manual of Practice and Procedure is an official publication produced by IP Australia, which provides detailed information to examiners and applicants on the practices and procedures relating to the filing, examination, and registration of a trademark following the provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth). If an application is approved, it will be published for opposition purposes for 2 months, during which time 3rdparties may oppose registration on certain grounds. If there are no oppositions, or any opposition is defeated, a certificate of registration will issue.

The term of registration in Australia is 10 years, which may be increased for additional purposes.

S. 17 Trademarks Act

It differentiates your business and the quality of your products from those of your opponents. Your trademark gives your reputation with it and strengthens long-term connections with your buyers.

It’s important to be aware of trademarks not only to protect your rights but also to ensure that you’re not infringing on the rights of others when creating one.

IP Australia (IPA) is the agency accountable for registering and executing your rights as a mark holder. They’re a resource you can reach to gather information, ask topics, check the registry of current trademarks and start the registration process.

Procedure For Trademark Registration

• Complete our trademark Form

  You need to fill our simple online trademark application form & submit documents.

• Conduct your trademark search

  To make sure that unique logo name filed is available or not, Trademark Search is executed by experts.

• Select Appropriate Class

  Depending on nature of your products, we shall suggest the appropriate class of the 45 classes.

• Trademark Application filed

  We create your Trademark application in 3 days and get your TM number.

• Trademark registration completed

  Your trademark is registered in 1.5 2 years if no competitor objects to your trademark application.

Steps to Register Trademark in Australia

• Step 1. Complete a trademark search

  Other trademarks may be considered substantially identical or deceptively similar for similar goods or services (not necessarily from the same class). Adaptability to differentiate the goods or services you are trying to protect, that the mark itself is not merely general or descriptive or a geographic indication. Prohibited signs or symbols are not included in the application.

• Step 2. Filing of the application

  Once filed a trademark application encounters first formalities monitor to assure that all of the elements to fill a trademark application under the Australian Trade Marks Act 1995 have been given.

• Step 3. Examination

  Once the application complies with the formality requirements, an examiner of the trademark office is then assigned to your application to check if it is acceptable on absolute and relative grounds. A range of checks is undertaken (similar to those identified in the search above) by the examiner.
  
  If the examiner finds a problem under any one of the grounds set in the Australian Trade Marks Act 1995 an official notice of rejection is circulated and the applicant has an opportunity to respond to the refusal.
  
  If the application is not denied on absolute or relative grounds it passes to acceptance where it will be advertised in the Australian Trade Mark Journal, where 3rd parties may oppose the registration of the mark by an opposition procedure.

• Step 4. Registration

  Where no opposition is filed the trademark can be registered and an approved certificate is circulated.
  
  Once filed no major changes to the mark or expanding on the goods or services covered can be made, therefore you must contact a trademark attorney before filing your application to ensure the application is filed in a way to maximize the chances of successful registration.

Benefits of Trademark registration in Australia

• Legal Protection: Registering trademarks will give an owner a legal right over his/her mark in case of any issues by the 3rd person for copying your logo, words or marks.
• Brand Identity: A trademark gives the advantage to build a brand identity. Trademarks in Australia are an excellent tool to brand a business product or service that provides the right customers to find you. This is a valuable tool for your audience to be able to explain your product or service different from that of others. This is a competing world and anything that can provide you an edge in that space is going to prove useful to your business.
• Exclusive Rights: The owner of Registered Trademark holds exclusive rights over the trademark in Australia. The owner can apply the same for all the products falling under the classes used. Further, the owner can hold the sole ownership of the Trademark and can hinder others from the illegal use of the Trademark under the same class where it is registered. It provides the right to sue the illegal use of the Trademark Registered. This is the main exclusive advantage a trademark owner has when registering for a trademark.
• Lawful use of Trademark symbol: Registration allows lawful use of ® next to your trademark. You can use the ® symbol to show that your trademark is registered. If your trademark is unregistered, you cannot apply the ® symbol, but you may use the ™ symbol. In Australia, the ® symbol with an unregistered trademark is an illegal practice. A registered trademark is a corporate asset that is beneficial when making an appraisal of your company in M&A or IPO situations.
• Protection against infringement: No competitor or another person can apply the word mark or logo registered by you under trademark. But, if in any case one applies it without the approval of the owner of the trademark or makes any false use of the same, the owner can get the legal protection under the Act and hinder the person doing so. Registration guarantees that you can securely use your trademark without bothering about any accidental infringement on the third party’s trademark. A trademark certification is the best proof of your claim on the mark.

Documents Required

• Application form

• Copy of Applicant’s Id and address proof

• Copy of the business/company certificate

• Letter of power of attorney

• Print and digital version of proposed trademark

• Copy of the passport of applicant

What Is Included In Our Package?

• Consultation

• Application Preparation

• Name search & approval

• Application Filing

• Same day Filing

Service	Cost
Trademark Search	Free
Trademark Consultancy on Class and Availability	Free
TM Application Filing + Drafting (Our Fees)	$ 400
Total Cost + Govt. Fees	$ 400

Trademark Search in Australia

A trademark may not be registrable where it is deemed too similar to a mark that is registered prior in time. It is hence advisable to search the trademark register for marks similar to your proposed mark before applying, especially where the money is to be invested into the mark before actual registration a minimum of 8 months from filing. Searches can also inform you of any prior marks that are so alike to yours that you may be sued for trademark infringement. Marketplace searches are also important as they may explain similar brands or trademarks that although not registered, may have some influence on your decision to use your proposed trademark. Searching for trademarks on the registry is a fine art and we advise the use of a trademark attorney to handle these searches before filing for a trademark. But, you may wish to conduct some preceding searches yourself using, the Australian Trademarks Online Search on our website Trademarkcart. A trademark search conducted by us and will be circulated with a full report detailing your prospects of obtaining registration.

In case you need to get the trademark class for a good or service, you can use our trademark class finder tool. Trademarkcart provide an easy way to perform a trademark search through this online tool.

Search you trademark in 3 simple steps:

• Step 1

  Complete our trademark form.

• Step 2

  We will generate your Trademark application

• Step 3

  Final Wrap-Up of your Trademark Order.

Trademark Protection

Trademark may be the most effective and valuable marketing tool for an overseas company doing business in Australia. Consumers identify certain quality and image with goods and services bearing a trademark. Therefore, overseas companies with any likelihood of doing business in Australia who own valuable trademarks should consider registering that trademark under the Australian Trade Marks Act 1995. There have been cases in Australia where foreign trademarks have been copied in Australia by Australian entities and registered in Australia under the Trade Marks Act. The use of the foreign trademark in Australia by the overseas owner could constitute an infringement of this registration. Such a situation can be prevented by registration of a foreign mark used in Australia.

A trademark is defined under Section 17 of the Trade Marks Act as a sign used or intended to be used to distinguish goods or services dealt with or provided in the course of trade. Section 6 of the Trade Marks Act defines a sign as including any letter, number, word, phrase, sound, colour, smell, shape, etc.

In Australia, it is possible to register standard trademarks, which are the vast majority of trademarks registered in Australia, special purpose trademarks, collective trademarks, certification trademarks, and defensive trademarks.

To be registrable, a mark must be used or intended for use in the course of trade, if it is to function as a trademark within the meaning of the Trade Marks Act. This means that it must be used in the course of a commercial transaction, most usually the offering for sale of goods or services.

The registered owner of a trademark in Australia is allowed to:

• The exclusive right to use the registered trademark for the goods or services specified in the registration.

• The exclusive right to authorize other people to use the registered trademark for the goods or services specified in the registration.

• Sell the registered trademark.

• Trademark protection in the whole of the Commonwealth of Australia

• Give the Australia Customs Service a notice objecting to the importation of goods and infringing the registered trademark.

• Prevent others from using the trademark without the owner’s approval.

Check trademark registration in more countries

• Trademark Registration in Germany.
• Trademark Registration in United Kingdom.

FAQs on Trademark Registration