The Australian Trademark Protection System

The predecessor of Australian trademark law was the Trade Marks Act of 1955, and the first true trademark law was the Trademark Act of 1995. Australia implements a “dual track system” for trademarks, which means that both registration and use can obtain trademark protection.

Australian Intellectual Property Office

The Australian Intellectual Property Office (IP Australia) is the main administrative certification body in Australia, established on February 13, 1904, and is an independent operating agency under the Federal Department of Industry, Tourism, and Resources. The bureau is responsible for managing intellectual property and legislation related to patents, trademarks, designs, and plant breeding rights (PBR). The management philosophy of the agency is to create an efficient and smooth global intellectual property system for the Australian people, promoting innovation, investment, and international competition.

website：www.ipaustralia.gov.au

Telephone：+61 2 6283 2999(Overseas); 1300 651 010 (domestic)

Fax：+61 6285 4731

address：Discovery House 47 Bowes Street Phillip ACT 2606

Introduction to Australian Trademark Registration

 3.1 Object of Trademark Protection in Australia

According to Australian trademark law, a trademark is a mark that clearly distinguishes the goods and services represented by the trademark from those represented by other trademarks. This definition is quite broad, including words, patterns (such as logos or images), letters, numbers, phrases, sounds (such as computer startup music), smells (such as essential oil flavors), shapes (such as beverage bottles), colors, or any combination of the above. Trademarks can be directly used on goods or their packaging, or simply used on promotional materials for goods.

3.2 Authorization conditions

In Australia, trademark registration is an important legal process to ensure the legality and uniqueness of a trademark. Trademarks need to have uniqueness. In Australia, trademarks need to be distinguished from other registered trademarks to avoid confusion and misleading consumers.

The trademark protection period is 10 years from the date of filing the application and can be extended indefinitely.

Australian Trademark Registration Procedure

1.Determine the object that owns the trademark, which can be:

One or more people,

Registering a company,

The trustee of the trust,

Political institutions, or

State, regional, or federal government entities.

2.To verify eligibility, you must:

Residing in Australia or New Zealand (or having a representative residing in Australia or New Zealand), and Intend to use the trademark for the goods and/or services in the application.

3.In order to avoid costly errors during retrieval, it is necessary to ensure that:

Understand the type of trademark applied for,

Understand which categories of goods and services should be included in the application,Retrieve existing trademarks and check if your idea (or similar idea) has been registered.

4.Choose a service to apply for:

Pre application service (TM Headstart),

Standard online services.

5.To collect materials, you need to collect the following materials:

Ownership and contact information (including mailing address),

Trademark designs (such as trademark images or sound recordings),

A list of goods and/or services to which your trademark applies, along with their corresponding category numbers and payment details.

6.Submit an application

Create an account in IP Australia’s online service and fill out the application form.

7.Checking the results, trademark applications usually take 3 to 4 months for examination. IP Australia will notify the review results through the applicant’s online service inbox. If the application is successful, the following situations will occur:

(1) Your trademark will be published in the Australian Trademark Official Gazette and Australian Trademark Search for 2 months,

(2) During this period, anyone can raise objections to your trademark,

(3) If no one raises objections to your trademark, or if you overturn these objections, your trademark application has been successful.

Introduction to Australian Trademark Office Fees

The above fees were updated in April 2024. For more content, please refer to the IP Australia website.