Practice Areas / Intellectual Property & Trade Marks
Intellectual Property & Trade Mark Lawyers
Trade marks, copyright, confidentiality and IP disputes for businesses and creators across Melbourne, Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula, in English and in Polish.
Protecting your brand and your work
A name, a logo, a website or a product design can be worth more than anything else a business owns. Many owners find out too late that registering a business name gave them no rights in it, or that the designer they paid still owns the copyright in their logo.
We help businesses and creators work out what they own, protect it and deal with people who use it without permission. Radek Dajer works on each matter directly, and advises Polish-speaking business owners and creators in Polish.
How we help with trade marks and IP
Trade mark searches and applications
A registered trade mark gives you the exclusive right to use the mark in Australia for the goods and services it covers, and to take action against infringers. Trade marks are registered by IP Australia under the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).
- Search first: before you invest in a brand, we search the register for conflicting marks. A mark that is too similar to an earlier one, or that simply describes your goods or services, may be refused.
- Applications: we choose the right classes of goods and services, prepare the application and respond to any examination report. Registration generally takes at least seven months.
- Oppositions: once an application is accepted, anyone can oppose it within two months of the acceptance being published. We act for applicants and opponents.
- Renewal and use: registration lasts 10 years from the filing date and can be renewed indefinitely. A registered mark that is not used for three years can be vulnerable to removal for non-use.
- The ® symbol: it may only be used with a registered trade mark. Representing an unregistered mark as registered can be an offence.
Business names, domain names and trade marks
Registering a business name or company name with ASIC only prevents someone else registering an identical or nearly identical name. It does not give you exclusive rights, does not stop others using similar names, and does not protect you if your name infringes someone else’s trade mark.
- Business names: registration is required if you trade under a name other than your own, but it is not brand protection.
- Domain names: a .au domain name is held under a licence and gives no rights in the name itself. Disputes can be brought under the .au Dispute Resolution Policy, and disputes about .com and other generic domains under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy.
- Trade marks: the registration that gives you enforceable rights in your brand across Australia for the goods and services you choose.
- Unregistered brands: if you have built a reputation in an unregistered name, you may still have rights through passing off or the Australian Consumer Law, but they are harder and more costly to prove.
Search before you spend
A business name registration or a domain name does not show that a name is free to use. Search the trade marks register before paying for signage, packaging or a website, so you are not forced to rebrand when a letter of demand arrives.
Copyright, confidentiality and disputes
Copyright protects original works such as text, artwork, photographs, music and computer programs. Under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) it arises automatically when the work is created. Australia has no copyright registration system.
- Who owns it: the author is usually the first owner, and an employer owns work its employees create in the course of their employment. A contractor or agency usually keeps the copyright unless they assign it to you in a signed written document.
- Confidential information: recipes, customer lists, methods and business plans are protected mainly by contract and the law of confidence. Have a confidentiality agreement signed before you share anything.
- Licences: a licence lets someone use your trade mark, copyright or know-how on agreed terms, covering scope, territory, quality control, royalties and what happens when it ends.
- Infringement and passing off: we send and answer letters of demand and act in disputes, which may go to the Federal Court, the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia or the Supreme Court of Victoria. Get advice before threatening anyone: trade mark and copyright laws let a person who receives an unjustified threat of proceedings claim damages.
How our fees work
- Before we start work, we tell you in writing how we will charge and give you an estimate of the costs.
- Where the work allows, we quote a fixed fee.
- Otherwise we charge for the time spent, and the written estimate tells you what to expect.
- Court fees, search fees and other amounts paid to third parties are shown separately.
- If the estimate changes significantly, we tell you in writing.
Talk to us about your brand
Book a consultation before you launch a name, sign a design brief or reply to a letter of demand.
We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
If there are no objections, registration generally takes at least seven months from filing. The application is examined, and once it is accepted there is a two-month period in which anyone can oppose it. When the mark is registered, your rights date back to the filing date, which is one reason to file early.
Unless your agreement says otherwise, usually the designer or developer who created it, even though you paid for the work. You will normally be able to use it for the purpose it was created, but you may not be able to act against someone who copies it. Ask for a signed written assignment, ideally in the contract before work starts.
It depends on whether you have a registered trade mark and how similar the names, goods and services are. With a registration, you may have a claim for infringement. Without one, you may still have a claim for passing off or misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law if you have an established reputation. We can assess your position before any letter is sent.
Do not ignore it, and do not simply give in. Check whether the other party holds a registration covering your goods or services, and whether you used your name first. There may be a defence, or grounds to have their registration removed or limited. Note any deadline in the letter and get advice before you reply.
Not as an idea alone. Copyright protects the way an idea is expressed, not the idea itself. Inventions may be protected by a patent and the appearance of a product by a registered design, but making them public before filing can put that protection at risk. Until you have advice, share ideas only under a confidentiality agreement.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can advise Polish-speaking business owners, artists and creators in Polish on trade marks, copyright and licensing, including for brands and products brought to Australia from Poland. See our Polish-language services for more about how we work with Polish-speaking clients.