Trade Mark FAQs

Your trade marks encompass your business name, product names, and any elements you identify as part of your brand. This includes the logos you use to advertise, promote, and sell your products. Trade marks are how customers recognise and recommend your business. They represent your business’s values and play a key role in building customer loyalty, ensuring that when customers seek your products, they know they’re choosing the quality and identity associated with your trade mark.

To own a trade mark you need to apply to register it. Applications for trade mark registration are now done electronically through the IP Australia website. However, before you apply to register your brand as a trade mark you will need to identify what your trade mark is and the good and/or services that you will seek to register it for.

These might sound like simple tasks; however, there are a number of matters that you need to consider to ensure that your resulting trade mark registration is fit for purpose and to make the application process as streamlined as possible. The experts at IP Solved can carefully guide you through this process.

For every business, the key question is: Do you truly own your trade marks? 

If you haven’t registered your trade mark with IP Australia, the answer is “No.” 

Registering your trade marks with IP Australia is the only way to officially and securely own them. 

Some businesses assume that registering their business name, company name, or domain name is enough to prove ownership. However, these registrations don’t give you the legal right to stop others from using a similar name or brand for similar products. Only a registered trade mark provides that protection and ownership.

To get your trade marks registered, you need to apply for registration at IP Australia, the Australian government body that administers the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) and maintains the Trade Marks Register.

At IP Solved, we specialise in trade mark registration to get your brands registered and protected.

A trade mark registration in Australia will only establish your business’s rights in that trade mark in Australia. It cannot be used to prevent the use of the same or similar trade mark in any other country. To obtain trade mark rights in other countries it is necessary to apply to register your brand as a trade mark in those countries via the Trade Mark Office in each country.

A "shot-gun" approach to trade mark registration overseas where you simply register in as many countries as possible will often be unnecessary and will be extremely expensive. Accordingly, it is best to register your trade mark in those countries that you have a current or foreseeable interest in trading in. 

Once the Trade Marks Office (IP Australia) has approved a trade mark for registration it will advertise it in the Official Journal of Trade Marks. Any person can oppose the registration of that trade mark by filing a Notice of Intention to Oppose. Such Notice must be filed within two (2) months of the date on which it was advertised in the Official Journal.

If no Notices are filed, the trade mark will proceed to registration upon payment of the registration fees. Once the trade mark is registered, opposition to it cannot be lodged with the Trade Marks Office, except in certain limited circumstances. If a party wishes to oppose the registration of a trade mark after it has proceeded to registration, they will need to do so by application to the Federal Court, which will be very costly.

When IP Australia accepts a trade mark application, there’s a two-month window where others, like competitors, can oppose it. 

To oppose your trade mark, they must have strong reasons. For example, they might claim that they are the rightful owner of the trade mark, or that your trade mark is too similar to theirs, which could confuse customers because of their existing reputation.

You can only use the ® symbol once your trade mark is officially registered. If your trade mark isn’t registered, you’re not required to use a symbol, but we highly recommend using the ™ symbol. This shows the public that you claim ownership of the trade mark for your goods or services. It can also help strengthen your position if you need to take action against someone copying your brand.

Sometimes a trade mark may go unused for a period of time or may not have been initially applied for with the intention that the applicant would actually use it in good faith. In such instances, action can be taken at the Trade Marks Office (instead of the Federal Court) to have a trade mark registration removed from the trade marks register.  This is referred to as a Non-use Action.

A successful non-use action will result in the trade mark registration being struck from the trade marks register, possibly leaving the registered owner without any rights in the trade mark.

Registered trade marks need to be renewed every ten (10) years from the date on which they were original filed. The effect of renewing your registered trade mark is that it will remain in force for another ten (10) years.

Ten years is a long time in business, and we find that many trade marks that are coming up for renewal need a good dust off and revisit, so we do not simply seek renewal of a trade mark without first confirming that the registration is still fit for purpose.

Call us today to renew your registered trade marks.

Registration of a trade mark gives its owner the right to take legal action against someone else who is using the same or similar trade mark in relation to the same or similar goods as those for which the trade mark is registered. Apart from conferring “ownership” of a trade mark on the registered owner, this is the main purpose and characteristic of a trade mark registration.

However, it is for the owner of a trade mark to “police” its trade mark rights and threaten legal action and where necessary take legal action to prevent someone else using a conflicting trade mark. The Trade Marks Office (IP Australia) will not do this for you, nor will they take action to prevent any infringements of your trade mark, once they come to light.

This cost will vary depending on the type of Trade mark and how many classes you need to register in, as well as how many countries you wish to register in for protection. IP Solved will guide you to ensure the correct protections are put in place for your business, while offering cost-effective and transparent pricing throughout the application process.