AUfiling code

Australia

IP Australia

Predictable, English-language and strict on distinctiveness. The trap here is stale advice: a well-known shortcut that used to exist has been closed.

Trademarks
System
First to file
Madrid Protocol
Member
To registration
~7–12 months
Term
10 years, renewable
Patents & designs
PCT
Member
Utility model
Not available
Hague (designs)
Not available
Design term
10 years

The innovation patent has been abolished, so a standard patent is the only route. Designs sit outside Hague and must be certified before they can be enforced.

What to watch in Australia

Four things that decide whether the filing holds

  • Innovation patents no longer exist

    The innovation patent — Australia's fast, unexamined second-tier right — has been phased out. Advice written before that change still circulates online. Standard patents are now the only route.

  • Not a Hague member

    Designs must be filed nationally. The term is shorter than most of Asia, and a design has to be examined and certified before you can enforce it against anyone.

  • A patent grace period exists

    Australia allows a grace period for disclosures made shortly before filing. It is a genuine safety net here — and relying on it usually destroys your rights everywhere else in the region.

  • Distinctiveness is examined hard

    Descriptive and geographic marks draw objections that take evidence of use to overcome. Clear the risk before the launch budget is committed.

Also on the desk