Intellectual Property

Our firm provides legal advise on registered trademarks, copyright and designs.

 

Trade Marks

 

What is a Trade Mark?

 

A trade mark is a sign which distinguishes your goods and services from those of another business.  What can be registered as a trade mark includes logos, slogans, package/bottle shapes, colours, smells and even particular sounds.

 

It is good business practice to register a trade mark if only for the obvious reason that it should prevent a competitor using your reputation to step up and over your business.  If a competitor links in to your distinguishing feature to advance their business with, for example, poor copies of your product it not only brings unearned business to them and away from you but also their weak copy of your product can give your product a bad reputation.

 

Further, if you become aware that a competitor is using your reputation unfairly you can easily defeat them legally if you do not have to deal with expensive court cases proving that you had the reputation prior to your competitor.  Registering a trade mark saves the owner from having to prove reputation when seeking a remedy.

 

We can provide legal assistance with the following:

 

• trade mark creation

• trade mark availability searches

• trade mark registration in Australia

• trade mark infringement and defence.

 

Copyright Infringement and Protection

 

Types of infringing acts.

 

Copyright infringement may constitute copyright infringement if acts were done, or authorised to be done, without the consent of the copyright owner.  It is not merely directly copying a work without permission.

 

It is important to realise that merely changing a work will not let you off the hook.  If the work can still be identified, even if it is small in size, but is a substantial part or recognisable part of that work then copyright can be found to be breached.

 

You can recall Men at Work's infringement with their use of the well-known Australian song Kookaburra sing refrain.

 

Defences to copyright infringement claims

 

In some circumstances a person will have a defence to copyright infringement according to the Copyright Act if they can show their use of the copyright was a 'fair dealing' for a particular purpose, such as

 

• research or study

• criticism or review

• parody or satire, and

• reporting news.

 

However seek legal advice before relying upon these defences.

 

Copyright notices: an optional tool

 

The C symbol, the date on which the work was created, or the name of the person who authorised the work is often used to remind others not to breach copyright.

 

However note that there is no legal requirement in Australia for copyrighted works to contain a copyright notice.  Therefore copyright breaches can occur on works that do not have this sign attached.  It is best to be aware of the type of circumstances when a breach occurs.

 

Designs

 

You may have a design that you wish to have Intellectual Property (IP) for.  A design can be registered but it needs to follow certain steps before it can be registered.  Not being aware of these steps may prevent you from registering the design.  Therefore it is particularly important to obtain legal advice as soon as you have a design.