Launch of eServices

Renewing IP rights and paying for the registration of trade marks has never been easier.

IP Australia is pleased to announce the launch of eServices. eServices is a secure electronic business portal that allows you to register, login and conduct selected transactions when and where it is convenient for you.

In the first release of eServices customers can renew all IP rights and submit trade mark registrations electronically, and pay for them online using VISA or MasterCard. You can also access new features such as the option to save your requests, access your eServices transaction history and update your details.

The services and transactions within eServices have built-in checks and pre-populated fields to save you valuable time and help ensure the accuracy of the information.

Over the coming months we will be adding more transactions and services to the portal so that it will become a one-stop-shop to help you manage your valuable IP assets.

For more information visit www.ipaustralia.gov.au.

Advanced Manufacturing Plan for Australia

On Tuesday afternoon, 27th of March 2012, the Australian Institute of Export was keen to offer me an opportunity to attend a conference at the University of Technology, Sydney.  The conference was presented by Andrew N.  Liveris,  the President and the Chief Executive Officer of the Dow Chemical Company, who announced the official launch of the Dow Advanced Manufacturing Plan for Australia.

Mr Liveris, appointed Co-Chairman of Barack Obama’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership in the United States and the author of Make it America, introduced the new policy with the aim to induce domestic and foreign growth and investment in Australia’s manufacturing sector. During the conference he highlighted the importance of developing partnerships between universities and government in order to reach a more effective use of Australia’s resources and skills which stimulate high-value products. The CEO of the Dow accentuated that it was time to stop being dependant on minerals and energy, and start aiming for “a balanced, sustainable economy that adds value to resources”.
   
Although Australia managed to sidestep the 2008 global economic recession, keeping its level of unemployment fairly low, Liveris found that in the last few years employment growth across the economy has gradually slowed down and that the continuous exchange rate strength has become a serious issue for the manufacturing sector. The level of global competitiveness has fallen and as a result total productivity has decreased as well.  

“Over the past 50 years, Australia’s manufacturing sector has shrunk from nearly a third of the overall economy to just 8.6%. We have seen factories-and the jobs in them- shipped overseas as other countries become more competitive- and we become less”.  

Mr Liveris stressed that change will bring global competition, increased economic growth and job creation into Australia.

On the other hand, from his point of view the carbon tax and renewable energy targets would damage the county’s competitiveness. Instead, the DOW CEO recommended that the government should have put its main emphasis on low-cost savings, which could be achieved through improved energy efficiency.

According to the plan, half of all new natural gasfields will be reserved for domestic use, which therefore will provide businesses with reasonably priced gas and establish global competition.

Liveris announced that the 5 major targets of the new Manufacturing Plan will stand for: greater investments in innovation, the maximization of value add through energy feedstocks, better education and training, higher access to global markets, and the creation of public private partnerships.

In addition, the Advanced Manufacturing Plan for Australia will also bring the focus on mathematics and science in schools.

According to Liveris, so far Australia was lacking the recipe for using its ingredients effectively (the highly skilled workforce and large quantities of natural resources). He strongly believes that the new plan will be the right remedy for it.

Without a doubt, manufacturing plays an important role in a country’s overall economic performance. Approximately a quarter of Australian research and development is carried out by this sector.   With the help of the new Advanced Manufacturing Plan, a professional guide for policy makers is going to be delivered and it will encourage them to create new policies for developing high-value manufacturing.

Kristina Kovalenko,  Project Manager - Export Council of Australia

If you are interested in joining the Export Council of Australia manufacturing action group, please visit our website: www.export.org.au

Back in Brazil by BRIC expert David Thomas

It’s great to be back in Rio de Janeiro, despite some unwelcome rain today, and to witness the continuing transformation of Brazil, now the 6^th largest economy in the world, a move from 7^th place which took place as recently as March this year when they overtook my original home country, the United Kingdom. Brazil’s economy grew by 2.7% last year compared to the UK's 0.8% growth, taking it to a total of US$2.51 trillion, compared to the UK, which now stands at US$2.48 tr.

But hang on, how can this be possible? I so vividly recall the Mexico World Cup in 1970 when the two captains, Bobby Moore and Pele, embraced at the end of England’s defeat by 0-1 to Brazil in the qualifying rounds (see photo right) when Brazil was regarded as a very poor country indeed compared to the UK which, whilst in decline from its peak in 1929, was still one of the world’s super-powers in political, economic and fiscal terms.

In 1970, the UK’s GDP was $1.24 trillion and the 5^th largest economy in the world (after US, West Germany, Japan and France) a fall from 2^nd place only 10 years earlier (behind the US). Brazil’s GDP was $0.42 trillion and the 10^th largest in the world (after the top 5 above, plus Italy, China, Canada and India).

Can it really be true that, in only 40 years, not even one lifetime, Brazil could have come from being only one-third of the size of Britain to actually overtaking them?!

It makes me wonder how much more can change in just the next 10 years? Brazil is poised to overtake France ($2.8 tr) in the next few years, with only Germany ($3.6 tr) and Japan ($5.8 tr) between them and the top 2 economies in the world (currently USA and China). India (now in 11^th place at $1.67 tr) will almost certainly outflank them (despite their growth slowing to 7.5% this year) and Russia (now in 9^th place at $1.85 tr) will also climb into the top league.

Can you find a way to ride this wave, before others do?

David Thomas, BRIC Expert

www.davidthomas.asia

Feeding the 9 Billion- the next big export push?

The Economist magazine ran an interesting article last year on the world’s capacity to feed it’s growing population that is predicted to reach 9 billion in 2050.  The article also looked at the different output yields available when different methods of agricultural practice and fertilization were applied, the increasing global prices for many staple agricultural products, and the shift in focus from grains to vegetables and meats in developing countries as many in the population gain the financial means to vary their diet. And, no surprise, the largest growth in food demand by 2050 is expected to come from Asia with China at the number one spot. 

The opportunity for Australia in all this is to ensure we are one of the leading global food suppliers in the years ahead, as demand from the world, and particularly Asia, grows.

We have already seen the interest from abroad in taking ownership of parts of our food production and supply chain.  Will this be the next big boom for Australia after mining?  And will it become so by default or by design?

There is certainly a necessary role for Governments in this debate.  There is the involvement of science in improving the yield and quality of our production levels, the debate on genetically modified crops, the capability (and cost as identified by the Australian Farm Institute in a recent report) of the transport infrastructure to move our agricultural production offshore, the debate on land ownership, and the conflicts on best uses for our arable land and oceans.

 An example of the impact that can be made in the science of land use and methods is the amazing growth of agriculture in Brazil in the last 15 years under the leadership of Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. Brazil has surpassed Australia in beef exports, and is also now the world’s largest exporter of poultry, sugar cane and ethanol. In soyabean Brazil produces a third of the world’s exports and growing.

Australia to it’s credit, has always been good at agricultural production in difficult conditions. Just look back to the pioneers who sourced and modified the best breeds of sheep and strains of wheat that would survive our southern hemisphere climate.  That capacity has continued and organisations like the CSIRO have been at the forefront of agricultural science.  (Perhaps at this stage we should be allocating more resources to supporting the science as Brazil has done).  

A key impediment has always been the dependence on rainfall for much of our agricultural land.  A paper from the Australian Farm Institute at the recent ABARE conference looked at the volatility of crop output across major producing nations (in the period 1961-2009) which put Australia at the top as the most volatile country for yields. By comparison, for livestock output over the same period, we come in at a more reasonable 10^th place in volatility, perhaps due to the ability to move cattle and sheep around when the droughts strike.  Another paper at the conference looked at public expenditure on R&D in the Agricultural sector. China, India and Brazil (among developing countries) have been increasing the spend on agriculture R & D, whereas Australia’s has been going backwards compared to our peers.  

This confluence of circumstances should be leading to much greater interest and support by our governments to realize the potential to be seen as the leading food supplier in the Asian region.

Currently our top markets for unprocessed food are Indonesia, Japan and China; whereas for processed food the top 3 are Japan, USA and Korea with China at number 5.  While the value of food exports is now rising, it remains small compared to other key industry sectors, and also compared to our history in the export of wheat and wool.

The goals then seem to be to:

•  Identify the key food sectors that will be growing in demand in our potential offshore markets, and develop these where Australia can gain a comparative advantage in production,  
•  Smooth out some of the volatility in production through more reliable water resources, better agricultural  science and perhaps complementary growing regions and 
•  Reduce the roadblocks to at least speed humps in the journey from farm gate to (overseas) dinner plate. Australia must be seen as a reliable, consistent and high-quality supplier.

The opportunity is there for strong export growth in our agricultural and seafood industries.  It does require the right mix of focus, planning and national teamwork to realize the potential, so that we can do our bit towards feeding the 9 billion, which would be a good thing for the world, and a good thing for Australia.

Peter Mace, General Manager- Export Council of Australia 

Self filing an international trade mark registration – How hard can it be?

If you are looking at exporting to a few countries you can certainly consider filing your trade mark application in countries of interest yourself, but you need to be mindful that doing it yourself increases the risk of making a mistake and either not achieving registration or gaining a weak or inappropriate registration. 

To minimise the risk of making a significant or avoidable mistake, there are a few things you can do that won’t cost you any money.

You should firstly understand what you are getting yourself into.  This means becoming familiar with the requirements, process and costs involved when seeking protection in your selected countries.  The more familiar you are with the process in each country, the less likely your trade mark will fail a simple administrative test.  By understanding the process you’ll also get an idea of when things like fees or other items are due.

When preparing your application it’s also helpful to understand one of the key tests used to assess a trade mark for acceptance.  That is, will this trade mark cause confusion amongst consumers because it is too similar to another mark that has already been filed for similar goods and services.

The key message here is to search each country’s trade marks database.  This search will indicate if there are any similar trade marks already registered which cover comparable products or services as yours.  Such existing registrations may block the registration of your trade mark.  If you think there are similar registrations but you really want to proceed with market entry using your existing mark, then you may need to consult a trade mark professional for advice on how best to proceed.

It’s also a good idea to check that other traders are not already using your trade mark, or something similar, as their own eg they’re using the mark but haven’t sought registration.  Phone directories and internet search tools can help in identifying existing use by others.

Your actual application will contain three significant pieces of information: your particulars as the owner; the mark itself; and a specification of the goods and services for which the mark is intended to be used.  If you get these things right, the application should encounter fewer issues. 

Some countries (incl. Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK) are making it easier for businesses by offering a service that provides you with an assessment of your proposed trade mark before you file it.  These services can be invaluable for their fast turn-around and relatively low cost.  IP Australia’s TM Headstart service can help you assess the registrability of your proposed trade mark in Australia. For more information visit our TM Headstart page.


Many trade mark applications will progress without any obstacles, however should you face objections during examination or opposition to registration, you may want to involve an IP professional.  They can provide valuable advice on whether they think the opposition has merit or if the objection can be overcome.  Once again it comes down to how much you want that trade mark!

The final decision rests with you: if you think your future success in a particular country relies upon a strong and dependable trade mark, then you should probably use a trade mark attorney, but if your business will suffer from the financial implications of involving professional advisors then doing it yourself may be the better option.

Visit IP Australia’s doing business overseas page for more information on protecting your trade mark in foreign markets.

Jessica Huntley, Marketing and Customer Engagement-IP Australia