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Protecting Your Intellectual Property (IP): A Guide to Australian IP Law

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IP law is the legal framework that protects the rights of creators and owners of intellectual property  IP is anything that your mind creates, such as a brand, logo, invention, design, or artistic work.

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​Four (4) types of IP rights that you can register in Australia:

Trademarks - a type of intellectual property that protects a unique sign, design, or expression that identifies a product or service.  A trademark can be a word, phrase, logo, symbol, sound, shape, image, or any combination of these elements. 

 

Patents -A patent is also a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention. Patents can protect inventions that are new, useful, and inventive, such as devices, substances, methods, or processes. There are three types of patents in Australia: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Each has its own specifications and durations.

 

Design rights - it is a type of intellectual property that protects the visual appearance of a product, such as its shape, colour, pattern, or texture. Design rights can prevent others from copying or using your design without your permission. 

 

There are two types of design rights in Australia: registered and unregistered. Registered design rights give you stronger and longer protection, but require you to apply and pay a fee.  Unregistered design rights are automatically granted, but only last for a short period of time and are harder to enforce.

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Plant breeder’s rights

Plant breeder’s rights (PBR)  protect new varieties of plants, fungi, and algae. They give the breeder exclusive rights to use, sell, or license their variety for a certain period of time, usually 20 or 25 years depending on the type of plant. PBR can encourage innovation and investment in plant breeding and commercialisation.  To obtain PBR in Australia, you need to apply to IP Australia, the government agency that administers PBR rights and legislation. Your plant variety must be new, distinct, uniform, and stable to be eligible for PBR.

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