IP Australia will shortly be updating its fees for trade marks, patents, designs and plant breeders’ rights, effective from 10 October. Although some fees will be increasing, a number of popular services will be more affordable as a result of these changes.
In particular, the official fees payable for a standard trade mark application should now be cheaper in most instances.
Currently, Australian trade mark applications are subject to an application fee payable upon lodgement, and a separate registration fee payable at the end of the application process. This second fee will be abolished, and, although application fees will be increased, this single fee remains cheaper overall than the two-part fee it will replace.
The minimum possible official fee to attain any kind of trade mark registration is currently $420 (GST free). This will now be reduced to $250 (GST free).
The official fees payable for an average trade mark application will now be around a third cheaper than previously available.1
Some costs will increase. The official fees to renew a trade mark will now be around a third higher.2 However, at $400 (GST free) per mark per class, once every ten years, these costs remain relatively low given the duration of protection afforded.
The HWL Ebsworth intellectual property team has considerable experience helping our clients protect their marks in Australia and abroad. Trade mark registration remains the single most effective mechanism for a business to protect its name, logo and other brand assets, and will now become more affordable than ever.
This article was written by Luke Dale, Partner and Daniel Kiley, Senior Associate.
1 Based on official fees totalling $500 (GST free) per class previously, versus $330 (GST free) per class now.
2 Based on official fees totalling $300 (GST free) per class previously, versus $400 (GST free) per class now.