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Apr 16, 2013
Chris Round, K&L Gates, Australia
Simon Casinader, K&L Gates, Australia

Australia raises the bar for trade mark owners


Chris Round, K&L Gates, Australia, Simon Casinader, K&L Gates, AustraliaThe Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Raising the Bar) Act 2012 (Cth) (Act) came into effect on 15 April 2013, and represents a significant revision of Australian trade marks law. In particular, the Act seeks to strengthen and streamline the trade mark enforcement system by making significant changes to the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) (TMA). There are further changes relating to patents, copyright and registered designs which are not the subject of this article.
The most significant aspects of the trade mark law reforms brought in by the Act are: the inclusion of a presumption of registrability for marks with respect to descriptiveness; a revised process for the opposition of trade mark applications; a strengthened customs seizures regime; an increased variety of options for the enforcement of trade mark rights; and an extension of attorney-client privilege to fully embrace trade mark attorneys.  read more