Below is a complete list of all the possible trademark classes available for trademark registration within Australia. Costs associated with registering a trademark depend upon the number of classes that a business requires. We need to keep in mind that individuals will not be able to register a trademark in an area that they dont intend to use it in. It is also important to properly define whether you or your business requires product or service based protection. Due to the diffculty of this process and the potential financial burdens of not choosing the correct class speak to one of our highly qualified trademark account managers today. Ensure your protection is the right protection and contact PYI on 1300 114 219 today!

CLASSES OF GOODS

CLASS 1:
Chemicals used in industry, science and photography, as well as in agriculture, horticulture and forestry; unprocessed artificial resins, unprocessed plastics; manures; fire extinguishing compositions; tempering and soldering preparations; chemical substances for preserving foodstuffs; tanning substances; adhesives used in industry.

CLASS 2:
Paints, varnishes, lacquers; preservatives against rust and against deterioration of wood; colorants; mordants; raw natural resins; metals in foil and powder form for painters, decorators, printers and artists.

CLASS 3:
Bleaching preparations and other substances for laundry use; cleaning, polishing, scouring and abrasive preparations; soaps; perfumery, essential oils, cosmetics, hair lotions; dentifrices.

CLASS 4:
Industrial oils and greases; lubricants; dust absorbing, wetting and binding compositions; fuels (including motor spirit) and illuminants; candles and wicks for lighting.

CLASS 5:
Pharmaceutical and veterinary preparations; sanitary preparations for medical purposes; dietetic substances adapted for medical use, food for babies; plasters, materials for dressings; material for stopping teeth, dental wax; disinfectants; preparations for destroying vermin; fungicides, herbicides.

CLASS 6:
Common metals and their alloys; metal building materials; transportable buildings of metal; materials of metal for railway tracks; non-electric cables and wires of common metal; ironmongery, small items of metal hardware; pipes and tubes of metal; safes; goods of common metal not included in other classes; ores.

CLASS 7:
Machines and machine tools; motors and engines (except for land vehicles); machine coupling and transmission components (except for land vehicles); agricultural implements other than hand-operated; incubators for eggs.

CLASS 8:
Hand tools and implements (hand-operated); cutlery; side arms; razors.

CLASS 9:
Scientific, nautical, surveying, photographic, cinematographic, optical, weighing, measuring, signalling, checking (supervision), life-saving and teaching apparatus and instruments; apparatus and instruments for conducting, switching, transforming, accumulating, regulating or controlling electricity; apparatus for recording, transmission or reproduction of sound or images; magnetic data carriers, recording discs; automatic vending machines and mechanisms for coin-operated apparatus; cash registers, calculating machines, data processing equipment and computers; fire-extinguishing apparatus.

CLASS 10:
Surgical, medical, dental and veterinary apparatus and instruments, artificial limbs, eyes and teeth; orthopedic articles; suture materials.

CLASS 11:
Apparatus for lighting, heating, steam generating, cooking, refrigerating, drying, ventilating, water supply and sanitary purposes.

CLASS 12:
Vehicles; apparatus for locomotion by land, air or water.

CLASS 13:
Firearms; ammunition and projectiles; explosives; fireworks.

CLASS 14:
Precious metals and their alloys and goods in precious metals or coated therewith, not included in other classes; jewellery, precious stones; horological and chronometric instruments.

CLASS 15:
Musical instruments.

CLASS 16:
Paper, cardboard and goods made from these materials, not included in other classes; printed matter; bookbinding material; photographs; stationery; adhesives for stationery or household purposes; artists’ materials; paint brushes; typewriters and office requisites (except furniture); instructional and teaching material (except apparatus); plastic materials for packaging (not included in other classes); printers’ type; printing blocks.

CLASS 17:
Rubber, gutta-percha, gum, asbestos, mica and goods made from these materials and not included in other classes; plastics in extruded form for use in manufacture; packing, stopping and insulating materials; flexible pipes, not of metal.

CLASS 18:
Leather and imitations of leather, and goods made of these materials and not included in other classes; animal skins, hides; trunks and travelling bags; umbrellas, parasols and walking sticks; whips, harness and saddlery.

CLASS 19:
Building materials (non-metallic); non-metallic rigid pipes for building; asphalt, pitch and bitumen; non-metallic transportable buildings; monuments, not of metal.

CLASS 20:
Furniture, mirrors, picture frames; goods (not included in other classes) of wood, cork, reed, cane, wicker, horn, bone, ivory, whalebone, shell, amber, mother-of-pearl, meerschaum and substitutes for all these materials, or of plastics.

CLASS 21:
Household or kitchen utensils and containers; combs and sponges; brushes (except paint brushes); brush-making materials; articles for cleaning purposes; steelwool; unworked or semi-worked glass (except glass used in building); glassware, porcelain and earthenware not included in other classes.

CLASS 22:
Ropes, string, nets, tents, awnings, tarpaulins, sails, sacks and bags (not included in other classes); padding and stuffing materials (except of rubber or plastics); raw fibrous textile materials.

CLASS 23:
Yarns and threads, for textile use.

CLASS 24:
Textiles and textile goods, not included in other classes; bed and table covers.

CLASS 25:
Clothing, footwear, headgear.

CLASS 26:
Lace and embroidery, ribbons and braid; buttons, hooks and eyes, pins and needles; artificial flowers.

CLASS 27:
Carpets, rugs, mats and matting, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors; wall hangings (non-textile).

CLASS 28:
Games and playthings; gymnastic and sporting articles not included in other classes; decorations for Christmas trees.

CLASS 29:
Meat, fish, poultry and game; meat extracts; preserved, dried and cooked fruits and vegetables; jellies, jams, compotes; eggs, milk and milk products; edible oils and fats.

CLASS 30:
Coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, rice, tapioca, sago, artificial coffee; flour and preparations made from cereals, bread, pastry and confectionery, ices; honey, treacle; yeast, baking-powder; salt, mustard; vinegar, sauces (condiments); spices; ice.

CLASS 31:
Agricultural, horticultural and forestry products and grains not included in other classes; live animals; fresh fruits and vegetables; seeds, natural plants and flowers; foodstuffs for animals, malt.

CLASS 32:
Beers; mineral and aerated waters and other non-alcoholic drinks; fruit drinks and fruit juices; syrups and other preparations for making beverages.

CLASS 33:
Alcoholic beverages (except beers).

CLASS 34:
Tobacco; smokers’ articles; matches.

CLASSES OF SERVICES

CLASS 35:
Advertising; business management; business administration; office functions.

CLASS 36:
Insurance; financial affairs; monetary affairs; real estate affairs.

CLASS 37:
Building construction; repair; installation services.

CLASS 38:
Telecommunications.

CLASS 39:
Transport; packaging and storage of goods; travel arrangement.

CLASS 40:
Treatment of materials.

CLASS 41:
Education; providing of training; entertainment; sporting and cultural activities.

CLASS 42:
Scientific and technological services and research and design relating thereto; industrial analysis and research services; design and development of computer hardware and software.

CLASS 43:
Services for providing food and drink; temporary accommodation.

CLASS 44:
Medical services; veterinary services; hygienic and beauty care for human beings or animals; agriculture, horticulture and forestry services.

CLASS 45:
Legal services; security services for the protection of property and individuals; personal and social services rendered by others to meet the needs of individuals.

In many cases, the best recourse will be to file a trademark in your intended name. Whether someone else has beaten you to registering your business name or has obtained a trademark on the name your business has been using, there is not very much you can do about it immediately. In fact, someone else holding an exclusive right to the name (such as in a legally obtained trademark) might lead to your use of the name as being a trademark infringement.

The level of protection you have obtained will decide what you can do next. Business name registration alone does not mean you are the only one who can use the name. Anyone can open a business with any name or a name similar to yours if they want should a trademark not be in place of that business name. Contact us to find out for certain if your business name has been trademarked, or use our trademark search tool to determine if it is still available.

If you are a sole proprietorship or partnership, you might not have the sense of protection you might think. Only an incorporated business carries some business name protection but in a limited region.

Obtaining a trademark on your name, whatever your business structure is, is probably your best course to prevent others from using the same name. Having a registered trademark in Australia will give you the legal rights to initiate trademark infringement proceedings if someone else is using your name or other protected elements you have the exclusivity of a trademark on.

Since trademarks are administered on a “first to file” basis, make sure you are not too late to protect your valuable business name. Call us for same day trademark application in Australia!

We are exposed daily to big global trademarks like Nike, Coca Cola, and McDonalds. You may believe that only the big brands can afford to register a trademark in Australia, but you are wrong. The cost of registering a single trademark in Australia will generally be affordable, even for a start-up business. However, the extent of your products or services as well as the desired level of protection ultimately determines the final cost. Let the trademark specialists at Protect Your Investment give you a definitive quote.

For an understanding of a ballpark cost, a single trademark in a single line of business will cost you $545 upfront with PYI. This includes all necessary government, legal and administrative fees. After your application has been approved, the next step is Government Registration. Government Registration for a 10 year period for that same trademark will cost $635. Trademark registration in Australia has two major parts that involves administrative duties and government processing. Similarly, the total cost is divided to reflect these two stages.

Therefore, it is not the million dollar expenditure you probably expected yet it may be worth a million in the end. Our trademark specialists at PYI however, cannot start the process or reserve your name until the first upfront payment is made. Subsequently, full payment is required before the second stage of the trademark registration process (Government Registration) commences. Following that, you will then be looking to receive your official trademark and be able to exercise its full rights.

Once you have legally obtained your trademark, you are the exclusive owner of that mark. Therefore, you will have several options to protect your trademark if you find someone else using it.

Trademark infringement is the violation of the aforementioned exclusivity. Whether unintentional or intentional, it is still classified as “infringement” when another party uses a trademark confusingly similar or identical to the one you own particularly in relation to products and services identical to the products and services your trademark registration covers.

Subsequently, you can start legal proceedings against whoever is infringing on your trademark registration.

However, in Australia and many other countries, if the contested trademark is not registered, it cannot be “infringed.” As a result, you are not legally protected. Therefore, your best chance to both protect a mark and increase your chances of winning any disputes of trademark infringement is to register your trademark soon. Trademark registration in Australia is a “first to file” basis. Will you be the first to file the distinguishing mark that makes your business stand out?

Business name registration is NOT the same as registering a name as a trademark. You will still need to research if the name you want to register is being used by someone else like when registering it as a trademark. However, the similarities end there.

A name that has been trademarked lets you control how that name is used and reserves its use exclusively to you. A registered business name, on the other hand, is required if you are doing business under any name other than your own. Business registration identifies who is operating a business under a name that is not their given/legal name.

However, trademark registration of your business name is vital in obtaining legal protection for your brand and giving you a better opportunity to market your business. A trademark can cover everything from the Nike swoosh symbol, the shape of Coca Cola’s bottles, and Tiffany blue color—all successful examples of trademark value being an asset to your business.

Business name registration and domain name registration are only baby steps in establishing and marketing your brand using your business name. To trademark a name, you will need to follow all the steps required to obtain all other trademarks, including logo, slogan, and more. Your first step is to do trademark research to ensure your claim is not on a similar mark already exclusive to another business. While this step could be a simple or exhausting process depending on what trademarks are similar to the one you are pursuing. As a future trademark owner, you will appreciate the level of protection you too will receive in the future.

Next, you will need to file an application and wait for approval before waiting again for government registration. Yes, as you can see a lot of waiting waits for you. If it sounds a bit too time-consuming and confusing, it doesn’t have to be. A minimum 7.5 months is expected for all trademarks from application to successfully obtaining the trademark. However, you can leave it to the experts to make the 7.5 months minimum seem easier but maybe not necessarily faster.

Before you register a trademark, a trademark search is “due diligence” to ensure that the trademark element (name, logo, etc.) you want to claim isn’t going to conflict with an existing trademark. Therefore, it is crucial in the early stages of the minimum 7.5 month process to spot any potential conflicts.

Your business can avoid being guilty of trademark infringement and avoid the liabilities. For example, businesses that infringe on a registered trademark in Australia can be held responsible for damages to (in the government’s and court’s eyes) the exclusive owner of the mark.

Furthermore, even if you aren’t legally held responsible, a name or mark too close to another’s trademark will work against your business in the long run by confusing your customers—that includes losing sales.

Finally, if you have your sights on the eventual expansion of your business, one of the vital factors you want to keep an eye on is the strength of your trademark.  A trademark, by definition, is a distinguishing mark of your business. Therefore, you want to make sure a hundred other companies do not use confusingly similar marks. In the long-run, your trademark would have no strength and value—just another face in the crowd.

To fully realize what the consequences of not registering your trademark are, we will look at the benefits of obtaining legal ownership of your trademark.

By registering your trademark in Australia, you will get greater legal protection for your company’s name, logo, and other trademark. Without it, you won’t have exclusivity nationwide. As a result, confusing variations or your name or logo (as an example) itself can be used by anyone,  leading to a weakened brand.

Imagine if anyone who could fry up a burger could open a McDonald’s (non-franchise) and use the golden arches logo, including a seedy hole-in-the-wall downtown?  McDonald’s would not be the internationally recognizable or well-patronized business it is.

Furthermore, when someone else does beat McDonald’s in obtaining a trademark for the name and logo (remember trademark registration in Australia is on a “first to file” basis), McDonald’s might even be accused of trademark infringement. Of course, McDonalds and all internationally known brands share a common denominator—their trademarks are valuable enough to them to be registered and protected. See a pattern?

Both Australian and international businesses (and their agents in Australia) who are serious about doing business in Australia should consider trademark registration in Australia to protect and control their valuable intellectual property. Succeeding in registering your trademark gives you the full protection covered by the familiar ™ (unregistered trade mark),® (registered trade mark), and (sm) (service mark)  that we often associate with bigger companies.

To register a trademark in Australia, you will start by thinking: What do I want to trademark? Nowadays, you can trademark conventional elements of your company (name, logo, slogan, symbol, design, image, and a mix of these) and non-conventional elements (color, scent, sound, and more). The whole process takes a minimum of 7 months and involves at PYI

1. Trademark Search & Advice – Make sure the trademark you are pursuing is indeed original and does not infringe on someone else’s (preventing lots of legal headaches in the future). If you run into problems, PYI can provide you with the experience and advice on what to do next.
2. Filing Trademark application
3. Waiting for Trademark Approval
4. Government Registration
5. An Opposition Period – During this latter stage in the trademark registration process, your claim for a trademark might be opposed by other parties whose trademark conflicts with yours.  Don’t panic! You have options—including getting legal representation. However, just think that this same “due diligence” period will also protect future trademark holders like yourself.
6. Success – Congratulations!

Registering your business branding includes registering your business name and domain name. When starting a business, most new entrepreneurs ask whether they should register their domain name first or their business name with Office of Fair Trading in Australia? While you certainly can operate as a sole trader under your own name, domain registration in Australia requires an ABN to obtain a .com.au or .net.au. The “.au” is integral for local businesses as it identifies the country you are running your business from—Australia. You can research the availability of the domain name you would like to obtain and subsequently apply for it.

Registering your business name (non-trademark), on the other hand, involves both registering the business name and possibly incorporating it with the Australian government. However, you should certainly consider obtaining a trademark for your business name as added protection from others using it offline and online.

Considering how most of us can identify international brands by sight alone (Nike, Apple, and McDonald’s, for example), logo registration is another necessary yet complex step for businesses who want to build their brand and succeed. First, be aware that you can trademark your logo internationally and exclusively for Australia. International trademark of logo covers 87 countries with one application. However, it is both costly and complicated.

Trademarks are essentially identifying characteristics that distinguish your company (whether product or service-oriented) from another business through a name, slogan, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these. There are also non-conventional trademarks that include colours, scents, and sound.

Therefore, ask yourself first which of these elements (all contributing to your company’s overall branding) that sets apart your business from your competitors would you like to pursue a trademark for?

The trademark registration process in Australia involves:

1. Researching the element you want to trademark at http://www.pyi.com.au/trademark-registration/. This will ensure that there won’t be conflicts with another company’s trademark. Trademarks are a “first to file” situation so being proactive now will ensure your trademark is protected.
2. Next, you will need to file a trademark application.
3. Once your trademark application in Australia is approved (taking about 2-3 months), government registration and a period of time when your claim is open to opposition. These totals about 3 months.

As you can see it is a complex yet necessary process of about 7 months. However, agencies like PYI can facilitate your experience with their experience in trademark registration.

Business Names Registration

Business name registration is a government service that when successfully completed provides your business with what is called an ABN. The best way to begin this process is by searching the business names register to check if your name is available. Business name registration is required if you are seeking endorsements as a tax concession charity or income tax exempt fund; and/or a deductible gift recipient. Utilise the business names register for an additional ABN if your organisation also carries a on an enterprise in a different entity capacity i.e. both a non-profit company and as a trustee for a trust for example. It is the entity not the enterprise that can register a business name. The register of business names can only be undertaken by the government yet this doesn’t mean you are protected.

Registering a Business Name Online

To register a business name online you will need to trademark your business name with a separate application. Registering a business name as a trademark gives your business the exclusive right in Australia to use your business name as a brand and to legally stop imitators from trying to profit from your recognition. Business registration, company registration or purchasing a domain name does not in itself give you and proprietary rights, only a trademark is able to provide you with that level of protection. Business registration will ensure that only your business has exclusive use of your name now and in the future therefore contact us to register your business name.

Intellectual Property

The term can be defined as the application of someone’s mind or intellect to create something new or original. The property itself can exist in various forms such as an invention, a trade mark, book, film, trade secret or artistic design which all require intellectual property protection. Web intellectual property is often the hardest to protect as in one point in time someone may mention a trade secret on Facebook to a friend or attempt to claim a piece of literature as their own in a report. If you feel that you may be a victim of intellectual property you can do one of four things including reputation management, domain name registration, trademark registration as well as logo registration.

Online Intellectual Property

Intellectual property online will allow you and your business to protect your innovative ideas from others using or controlling those ideas as well as profiting from your ideas in any way. When people consider the assets of a business they tend to only think about physical products i.e. people and equipment. We can’t ignore the vast reductions in people utilising yellow pages and more and more people everyday searching on the internet for businesses therefore intellectual property online is just as important. Web intellectual property is all about protecting your future and ensuring your unique selling position in such a competitive market remains preserved. Intellectual property protection is going to become a necessity now more than ever so make sure you are ahead of your competitors before it’s too late.

Online Trademark Policy

An online trademark requires the same trademark application and trademark registration as any other trademark. As a result by filing a single form you have trademark protection from businesses advertising on your company name or brand in both paper and electronic format. Nevertheless the Google Trademark Policy isn’t as easy to enforce in comparison to the trademark restrictions the government puts into place. Primarily the reason why trademark infringements are hard to control online is due to the fact that they are so hard to track yet also monitor. A Google trademark will not only protect your business from people currently utilising your business name for advertising persons yet also prevent people from utilising it in the future.

Google Online Trademark Policy

The Google trademark policy itself protects your business from not only people using your business or product name as keyword to trigger their ads when such a term is searched;  yet also prevents businesses from using your business name or product name in ad text as well.

i.e. If you type in our company name PYI you will see that no other company is able to advertise on our name therefore no one can attempt to profit from our market share. Secondly no one can target search terms relating to our services and utilise our name in any way within their ad text. The above is only possible once a business has purchased an online trademark.

Trademark Registration

Let Us Register Your Online Trademark!
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Google trademark laws relating to the above example only apply to businesses located outside of the US, UK, Ireland and Canada. According to the Google Trademark Policy Google clearly states that they will investigate and remove registered trademarks used by a third party in both its ‘ad text’ and ‘keywords’ in such countries. Take advantage of the fact that an online trademark in Australia will protect your business from anyone falsely advertising on your name or using your reputation for their benefit.

If you want to use and protect each separately you should register each separately. However you can if you wish register them as one trademark and claim rights for the cumulative use.

Yes you may apply to federally register your domain name as a trademark provided that it is being used to market goods or services on the internet. If it only being used for say personal or family reasons then registration will be denied.

A trademark includes any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination, used, or intended to be used, in commerce to identify and distinguish the goods of one manufacturer or seller from goods manufactured or sold by others, and to indicate the source of the goods.

No, but federal registration has several advantages, including notice to the public of the registrant’s claim of ownership of the mark, a legal presumption of ownership nationwide, and the exclusive right to use the mark on or in connection with the goods or services set forth in the registration.

If someone files an application before you, chances are you will miss out.

Registration in Australia gives you rights in Australia therefore; having rights here does not necessarily mean you can prevent someone using your brand in the U.S for example.

For example Apple Inc. might register the term “Apple” for computers, mp3 players and mobile telephones”. Your rights are limited by the goods and services listed in your application.

To apply you need a bona fide intent to use your trademark on those goods and services. Therefore different people can own the same trademark for different goods and services.

For instance if you are using your logo on a paint product and now wish to use the same trademark for painting services you should file another application to register the new use of the mark after you check if it currently already being used.

It is very difficult to register something already in use by someone else or something that is of a descriptive nature.

E.g. Attempting to register “Microsoft” for computer software is impossible as a result of the brand being so well known. If you attempted to register “awesome shoes” due to its commonality it would be very difficult to register for shoes.

• Kind: includes the name of the good or service and any component which indicates the size or type of a goods or services i.e. registering the word sedan for cars.
• Quality: admiration based words commonly used by traders to bestow virtues of their good or service i.e. superior, good, best and number one etc.
• Quantity: includes references to numerals which indicate volume, area, model or batch numbers i.e. registering the number 25′s for cigarettes.
• Intended purpose: words which describe the function of goods or the result of a service which are not capable of being distinguished i.e. registering roach-free for a pest control service.
• Value: words which emphasise the worth, importance or value of a product or service i.e. attempting to register the term ‘worth the weight in gold’.
• Time of production: trademarks which refer to a time frame such as when the goods were produced or when the services are to be available i.e. registering the phrase ‘ready in one hour’ for dry cleaning services.
• Geographic origin: although geographical names have the potential to be registrable, traders will generally not be able to obtain a monopoly on the name of a place or region with a reputation for the designated goods or services unless overwhelming evidence of use is provided, eg. Hunter wines. It is worth noting that if the geographical origin has no relationship to the goods at all (i.e. North Pole bananas) then it may be registrable.
• Surnames: this depends on how common the surname is.

Although some types of trademarks may have grounds for rejection raised against them in an examiner’s first report, these may be overcome through the provision of evidence of use or other special circumstances. You may ring the examiner of the application for information on overcoming problems in the application or alternatively you can consult a patent attorney or legal practitioner on these matters

1. Constructive notice nationwide of the trademark owners claim.
2. Evidence of ownership of the trademark.
3. Jurisdiction of federal courts may be invoked.
4. Registration can be used as a basis for obtaining registration in foreign countries.
5. Registration may be filed with U.S. Customs Service to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods.

Subject to your continued use of the trademark for your goods and services.

If the combination is the same or very similar to a name that is federally registered or used you will be precluded from using or registering the name/ logo combination even though in appearance they may be quite different.

There is no such thing as an international trademark yet it is possible to file one application per country in order to seek protection.

Yes it can, if information comes to notice after acceptance which indicates that the trade mark should not be accepted. You will be notified when the application is under examination and later advised as to what parts can remain as is.You have the ability to be heard in the matter yet if after month you do not state your case the application will be revoked immediately.

Yes it can up until registration. Yet once registered the owner would have to request cancellation of his or her trademark. Either way there is no fee to withdraw at any time and If need be a letter should be written to the Registrar to do so.