Intellectual Property in Commercial Settings
Requirements for registration
Trade mark law grants a monopoly right to a trade mark owner to use the registered mark or logo in relation to the owner’s goods and services.
A logo may consist of words or phrases that are used in everyday language or which are common to a business or trade. To ensure a trade mark right is not granted unfairly, the Trade Marks Act 1995 lays down certain requirements for a mark to be eligible for legal protection. These requirements seek to ensure that ordinary words are not taken out of everyday usage or denied to the public because a monopoly trade mark right has been granted over them.
Trade marks must be law abiding
A trade mark will be refused registration if it is otherwise contrary to law, such as where it defames someone.
Australian trade mark register
Each country’s trade mark office maintains a trade marks register that records information about pending applications, registered trade marks and cancelled or removed trade marks. In Australia, the register is maintained by IP Australia. Visit the website for information, tools, resources and a blog about the latest news.
Do I have to register a trade mark?
Trade marks don't have to be registered. However, without registration it can be more difficult and expensive to protect your trade mark. Registration ensures full legal protection for your mark. Generally, a mark or logo which is not yet registered is denoted by the symbol ‘™’ and a mark or logo which has been registered is denoted by ‘®’.
