How Can I Save Money When Applying for a Trade Mark?

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Table of Contents

• Apply to Register the Trade Mark(s) That You Use the Most
• Choose Which Type of Trade Mark to Apply For
• Use IP Australia’s ‘Pick List’ When Choosing Your Goods and Services
• List Your Core Activities Broadly
• Key Takeaways 
• Frequently Asked Questions 

Applying for trade mark registration can be costly, especially if your business offers various goods and services. Indeed, the government fees payable will vary depending on how many classes you list in your application. Although, there are no annual fees for trade mark registration in Australia. However, you must only pay a one-off filing fee when lodging an application and a renewal fee every ten years. This article will explore four ways to save money when applying for a trade mark. 

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Apply to Register the Trade Mark(s) That You Use the Most

It is important to protect all your brand elements to protect your goods and services. Additionally, you can prevent other traders from stepping on your toes. However, if you want to cut costs, consider choosing the trade mark(s) you use the most to represent your business in the marketplace. 

For example, if you have designed three different logos on your website and marketing materials, but you have only been using one of these logos, you could apply to register the logo you are using in the marketplace. Moreover, you might apply for the other logos once you start using them or when you have the budget. 

Choose Which Type of Trade Mark to Apply For

A word mark is the most sought-after trade mark registration. That is because it provides you with a monopoly over the words themselves, no matter the: 

• font; 
• style; 
• colour; or 
• presentation. 

A word mark can be your business name or the name of a product or service that is unique to your business. If you choose between applying for a word or a logo, in most situations, a word mark may be the better option because you will have broader protection over the word. 

Use IP Australia’s ‘Pick List’ When Choosing Your Goods and Services

You will need to list the goods and services you seek to protect under your trademark when lodging your application.

Indeed, IP Australia groups together particular goods and services into classes. They have a ‘Pick List’ of pre-approved specifications of goods and services in each class that any applicant can choose from and list in their application. If you apply using the pre-approved wording, the government fees payable are $330 per class.

Further, if you want to draft bespoke specifications (including a description of a good or service that is not on IP Australia’s Pick List or is worded differently), this will come at an extra cost. In this case, the cost is $400 per class. 

List Your Core Activities Broadly

It will be beneficial to cover all of the goods and services you currently offer and the ones you intend to offer in the future. However, suppose you are looking to save costs. In that case, consider applying for your core and current activities and filing a separate application to protect those additional offerings once you start to provide them to consumers. 

Picking the most appropriate and relevant goods and services to cover your core activities can be difficult, mainly if you have yet to apply for trade mark registration. Therefore, we recommend that you seek assistance from a trade mark lawyer to do so. They will be able to advise you on the best classes to list to cover your core activities and other strategies that can help you save money when applying for trade mark registration.

Key Takeaways 

There are a few key ways that you can save money when applying for a trade mark. This includes: 

• applying for the trade mark that you are using the most;
• listing the goods and services that will broadly cover your core activities;
• choosing broad goods and services specifications from IP Australia’s ‘Pick List’; and
• applying for any other goods and services that you expand to in the future.

If you need help with trade mark registration or would like to consider other strategies to save costs, our experienced trade mark lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions