Music Trade Marks: When Sound Becomes a Brand
For most musicians, legal protection starts and ends with copyright. After all, copyright is what stops someone from stealing your melody or lyrics. But what about your band’s…
Defensive Trade Marks: When Protection Needs to Go Beyond Use
For most businesses, registering a trade mark is about claiming ownership over the brand elements they use every day, i.e. logos, names, slogans, and so on. But what happens when…
Sounds, Scents & Signs: Understanding Non-Traditional Marks
When most people think of trade marks, they picture a logo, a business name, or a slogan. But trade marks are not confined to just words or symbols anymore. Under Australian law,…
Understanding the “Use” of a Trade Mark: How It Works?
If you've registered a trade mark or you're thinking about applying for one, you might be surprised to learn that owning a registered mark isn't the end of the story, it's just…
How Trade Marks for Wine Are Examined in Australia under Class 33?
When it comes to protecting a brand of wine in Australia, filing a trade mark is only half the job. The real test comes during examination, i.e. where legal rules, geographic…
Honest Concurrent Use: How is it important?
What happens if someone else is already using a similar trade mark, but I’ve been using mine too, honestly and for years? This is exactly where the concept of honest concurrent…
Scandalous Signs as Trade Mark- What Do You Need to Know?
Now, you might wonder, what exactly does “scandalous” mean in this day and age? The truth is, it’s a moving target. What’s acceptable now may have been shocking 20 years ago, and…
Provisional Refusal of an IRDA-What can you do?
So, just because you’ve filed a trade mark internationally under the Madrid Protocol, it doesn’t mean your mark is automatically protected in Australia. Like every other country…
