Trade Mark Registration
Pinnacle TMS are specialists at helping Australian and International businesses protect their brands and business names through trade mark registration and renewal services.
Working with Pinnacle TMS is a two stage process.
Stage One
Initial Protection Review and Strategy Report – This report is unique to Pinnacle TMS.
With years of experience in the field, we can simplify the trade mark registration process for you by providing you with an Initial Protection Review and Strategy Report on your proposed trade mark. This report will let you know what you need to consider to go forward with the right trade mark application process. To learn more about our trademarking services read below, or to get advice specific to your situation call on 042 555 8867 or send us an email with the form at the bottom of this page.
This Stage 1 work is critical to:
Initial Check
Make sure your mark is not already registered or applied for by another party so you don’t waste time, money and energy on a brand that is already owned by someone else. This can also help you avoid being sued for trade mark infringement and having to change your brand, if you use or begin using a mark/brand already registered in the name of a competitor.
Risk Analysis
Let you know up-front the risk factor of going ahead with using your brand and the chances of it getting through the registration process.
Pre-Qualify Brand
Make sure you don’t waste time and money on a name/brand that has little chance of getting through the registration process for any reason.
Strategy
Provide you with options and strategies to go ahead with protecting your brand by trade mark registration if it is possible to do that.
02
STAGE
TIMEFRAME: Around 48 Business working hours to file the application and then around 7-8 months from filing date
Depending on the recommendations contained in the Initial Protection Review and Strategy Report, we file the appropriate application best suited to your trade mark.
Depending on the type of trade mark application filed, the Trade Marks Office examines trade mark applications in order of filing approximately 3 months after lodging an application.
We can also assist in having the application process fast-tracked to having an examiner review the intended application and get back to us within 5 working days.
If the examiner has any objections to registration of your mark, a report will issue and you will initially have 15 months to overcome those objections.
We can help with overcoming these objections where possible.
If the objections have been overcome, the application is accepted by the Australian Trade Marks and advertised for two months to allow for third party opposition to registration of your mark.
Assuming no one opposes registration of your mark, then the trade mark will be registered and the Australian Trade Marks Office will issue a formal certificate of registration for a 10 year period. If an opposition is filed, we can liaise with a lawyer to assist you with this event. (Note that only a small number of oppositions are filed compared to the number of applications filed)
Trade Mark Examination
After a trademark application has been filed it will be examined by an examiner to make sure it qualifies for registration. The timeframe for examination varies according to the way in which the application is filed. Once this has been completed, a notification is issued advising of the result.
If all the requirements have been satisfied, the application will be accepted pending a waiting period for any opposition’s to registration of the mark being made.
If all the requirements are not met however, a report is received that details any issues that have been raised by the examiner. These issues will need to be addressed before an application can continue.
While it is better to have done the ground work up front that would prevent this situation occurring, Pinnacle TMS have experience helping companies and individuals through this process, which can be tricky, filled with technical jargon and legal terms.
The Trade Marks Office is not permitted to provide advice on any particular case, so it is up to the applicant to seek out IP specific legal advice. This is where Pinnacle TMS can help. We can look at the report received and recommend a strategy going forward based on our previous experience. If necessary, eg in any opposition matters, we help you connect with legal assistance that is relevant to your situation. Due to our extensive experience, we know not only who you need to ask to get help, but also the questions you need to ask, and we can then help co-ordinate the application process and get it back on track.
