Calculating international trade marks and the Madrid Protocol

If you want to trade overseas or sell to foreign customers via the internet you should consider seeking trade mark protection in the countries you plan to trade.

Your Australian trade mark is only valid in Australia. Which means it’s important to get protection in your key markets before you start exporting.

There are two ways you can seek trade mark protection overseas. You can file an application directly with each country, or you can file a single international application with us nominating the relevant Madrid Protocol countries in which protection is required. In most cases, this will depend on your budget and countries of interest.

You can work out roughly how much your international trade mark protection will cost by using our international fee calculator.

The Madrid Protocol is a treaty that provides international registration of trade marks. As an Australian trade mark owner you can seek trade mark protection in member countries of the Protocol, through a single international application in English. This can be simpler and less expensive than applying directly to each country.

When your international registration is granted in a chosen country, your trade mark will have the same protection as a national registration in that country.

Before you apply for an international trade mark it is important to search the databases of your chosen countries to identify trade marks that may be similar to yours, as this may cause a conflict.

Trade mark offices often provide free searchable records of existing trade marks on their websites. International Bureau (IB) records can be searched for free using the Madrid System (ROMARIN).

Find out more about what you need to do before you apply for an international trade mark.

If you are exporting and want more information on how to protect your IP visit IP Australia’s doing business overseas page. 

Jessica Huntley

IP Australia

www.ipaustralia.gov.au

IPONZ Freephone from Australia

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has established an Australian toll free number to access during New Zealand business hours.

IPONZ recognises the involvement of Australian based clients in applying for IP rights in New Zealand. They have now made contacting IPONZ from Australia as easy as possible.

Freephone from Australia: 1800 796 338
Available 8.30am - 5.00pm NZDST, Monday to Friday (except public holidays).

Visit IP Australia’s website for more information about IP protection in New Zealand.

Cyber police to get more powers to monitor our activity in Cyberspace

Cybercrime is a growing threat as we exchange more and more information online. Cybercrime has already overtaken the drug trade worldwide as the most profitable form of all crimes due to the opportunities that cybercriminals have to steal money, identities and information from unsuspecting victims, causing it to become a matter of national interest.

On 22 August, the Australian Senate passed the Cybercrime Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 (“Bill”) which is aimed at strengthening Australia’s cyber security laws. The Bill sets the legislative framework to enable Australia to join 34 other nations and ascend into the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, the only binding international treaty on cybercrime.

Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says the Bill will “help combat criminal offences relating to forgery, fraud, child pornography and the infringement of copyright and intellectual property”.

The Bill amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act, the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, the Criminal Code Act, and the Telecommunications Act.

The main changes include:

• Preservation – allows law enforcement agencies to compel telcos and ISPs to retain data records of people suspected of cyber-based crimes, including fraud and child pornography. Data records include web-browsing history, social media activity, emails, and SMS messages. The law enforcement agencies will be prevented from seeing the information until they have secured a warrant.

• Mutual assistance – provides foreign countries access to Australian preserved computer data in the investigation of cybercrime and crimes committed using the internet pursuant to a stored communication warrant and vice versa.

• Cybercrime offences – expands the scope of existing Commonwealth computer offences and creates confidentiality requirements in relation to authorisations to disclose telecommunications data.

Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has raised concerns about stored data being given to foreign countries for use in criminal cases involving the death penalty.

In the amended Bill, the Senate addressed 12 of the 13 recommendations by the Joint Select Committee on Cyber-Safety. The only recommendation that was not considered related to the removal of the exemption of small internet service providers from the Privacy Act. This will likely be addressed as part of the government’s second stage response to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2008 report on privacy.

The amended Bill will go back to the lower house for approval.

Authors
John Kell, Partner - Hunt & Hunt Lawyers
Adam Mazzaferro, Senior Associate - Hunt & Hunt Lawyers
Calvin Lau, Lawyer - Hunt & Hunt Lawyers

 www.hunthunt.com.au