FAQs

How much does it cost to fix my trade mark application?

This depends on the issues raised by the examiner in their adverse report, which is unique to your trade mark application. Please email the report PDF to us so that we can review their specific objections. We can then unpack the issues, outline your options for overcoming these, and provide timelines and fixed-fee quotes for each option.

What are some of the options for responding to adverse reports issued by IP Australia?

We often have a number of ways to respond to an examiner’s adverse report, such as:

  • preparing a declaration to prove your use of your trade mark

  • filing a ‘non-use’ application to request IP Australia removes a clashing trade mark from the official TM Register because it has not been in use in Australia

  • requesting ‘coexistence’ from the third party owner of a clashing trade mark

  • filing a different trade mark more strategically to replace the original application

  • correspond with the examiner, for instance to provide full ownership details, and other helpful information that can result in acceptance being immediately granted

  • prepare and file transfer documents (assignments) if your trade mark has been cited against other trade marks you own because you are now filing in a new entity name.

Please send us your adverse report PDF so that we can provide your specific and fully costed options.

How do I find my adverse report PDF?

The person who originally filed the trade mark application needs to log back into their IP Australia portal account — the adverse report PDF should be displayed on the front page, but if not, click on the ‘Inbox’ icon on the top navigation bar, which will take you to all of the correspondence IP Australia has issued to you in relation to your trade marks.

Download the adverse report PDF and email it to us. Please make contact via our Contact Us form or phone our number.

If you no longer have your adverse report, we can request it from IP Australia with your permission. It usually takes 1-2 business days to receive this and we can share it with you, provide our advice, and fixed-fee costings.

If I can file online more cheaply, why pay you to file for me?

We are experts in trade mark applications so can deliver more powerful, more valuable and more enduring trade mark protection. So many of our clients have told us that self-filing trade mark applications looks easy, but it can also come with significant risks, lost opportunities, and poor protection outcomes. We know the trade mark protection system inside and out so we know how to maximise your trade mark assets.

Our fees are a small percentage of your trade mark’s value to your business and could mean significantly more financially if you should want to sell or license your trade mark. Please ask for a quote.

Can you file my trade mark overseas, as well as in Australia?

Yes! We can use your original Australian application or registration to file economically and efficiently into 90+ countries, including the US, UK, EU, China, Israel, Canada and many more thanks to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and international treaties of which Australia is a member. Please ask for a quote.

What services do you offer when managing trade mark portfolios?

When we become the ‘address for service’ for your trade marks (also known as agent or representative), we do the following:

  • swiftly inform you that your trade mark is due for 10-yearly renewal to ensure you do not lose a valuable IP right and business asset

  • receive and swiftly provide specific advice about official and legal correspondence to ensure you are well-informed about key milestones and even third party threats to your trade mark

  • keep your ownership details up-to-date to ensure the official Australian Trade Marks Register has correct information.