4 Steps to Protect Your Creations as a Cartoonist with a Trade Mark

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Table of Contents

• 1. Choose Your Trade Mark
• 2. Select Your Trade Mark Classes
• 3. Register Your Trade Mark
• 4. Consider Other Protection 
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions

A registered trade mark is a form of intellectual property (IP) protection that protects your brand assets. This is particularly pertinent for cartoonists, whose creativity ultimately drives their brand. To avoid your creations being misused by others, they must be adequately protected. This article will take you through four steps to protect your creations as a cartoonist with a registered trade mark while also considering other forms of IP protection.

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1. Choose Your Trade Mark

Before registering a trade mark for your creations, you must decide what elements you can register as a trade mark. It is important to note that for cartoon characters or similar creations, you cannot register a trade mark for your characters overall. Instead, you can register a trade mark for your creation where it serves as a logo or a brand name. 

For example, consider the character Mickey Mouse. The name Mickey Mouse and his image are registered trade marks owned by Disney. The Mickey Mouse trade marks are used in the sale of products and services. For example, the trade mark can be found on various forms of merchandise. Having these registered trade marks prevents competitors from using Mickey Mouse’s name or image to advertise or sell competing products or services.

Once you have decided on the form your trade mark will take, you must check that it is eligible for registration. This includes checking that it does not use forbidden words or phrases, including potentially offensive terms. You must also ensure that it is not identical or similar to existing trade marks and, therefore, available for use. 

2. Select Your Trade Mark Classes

Once you have selected the trade marks for your creations, you must consider the trade mark classes that best apply. Trade mark classes refer to the different categories of goods and services under which you can register your trade mark. 

For example, you may have designed a cartoon character. If you wish to use this character as a logo on apparel or merchandise, some relevant classes might include:

You can search the available class options to trade mark your creations as a cartoonist.

3. Register Your Trade Mark

The next step is to apply to register your trade mark through Australia’s trade marks office, IP Australia. This is a multi-step process that will require you to:

• provide your contact details;
• provide a representation of your proposed trade mark for assessment; and
• pay the applicable filing fee.

However, you will receive an adverse examination report if your trade mark does not meet the legislative requirements. This report will outline the amendments you must make to your trade mark before successfully registering it. You have 15 months to respond to this report and have the examiner consider your response. If IP Australia accepts your trade mark, it will be open to opposition from third parties for a two-month period. During this time, your trade mark can be challenged by third parties if they believe your trade mark infringes on theirs.

Your trade mark is officially registered once IP Australia has accepted it and you have overcome opposition.

4. Consider Other Protection 

In addition to registering a trade mark for your creations, several other IP considerations may be relevant to you as a cartoonist. 

As a cartoonist, your creations may constitute ‘artistic work’ if they are unique enough. In this case, you will be granted automatic copyright protection. However, it is important to note that in such an instance, your work will lose its copyright protection once you have commercially manufactured it. ‘Commercial manufacture’ refers to when you have produced more than 50 articles of the design. 

If your work has been commercially manufactured, you might consider looking at protections under design law. Designs have their own registration process, which IP Australia also oversees. Design registration requires your design to be new and distinctive. This can be difficult to demonstrate as a cartoonist due to the high threshold. 

You should seek professional advice to consider all IP protection options for your creations. However, a combination of trade mark registration, copyright, and even design registration will usually sufficiently protect your creations.

Key Takeaways

Trade mark protection is particularly pertinent for cartoonists, whose creativity is ultimately what drives their brand. Some key steps you should take to register a trade mark for your creations include:

• choosing your trade marks;
• selecting the right trade mark classes;
• applying for trade mark registration; and
• considering other IP protection to supplement your trade mark protection.

If you need assistance registering a trade mark in Australia, LegalVision’s experienced intellectual property 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