If you renew your business trade mark through a private business, rather than IP Australia, you could end up paying three times more than required.
You also run the risk of giving away future control of the management and renewal of your trade marks.
Who is IP Australia?
IP Australia is the Federal Government department that administers intellectual property (IP) rights and legislation for trade marks, patents, design rights and plant breeder’s rights in Australia.
Depending on your business activities, you may have IP registered with IP Australia, which would require renewal after a period of time. This could include registering your business name as a trade mark.
When receiving these renewal notices, it’s important to check that the renewal is a legitimate notice from IP Australia and not a renewal through a private business.
How are these private businesses able to contact me?
When registering a trade mark your contact details become publicly available. Unfortunately, there are private businesses who use this information to approach you with unsolicited renewal notices.
On the surface these renewal notices may look official. They may also stress that you need to take immediate action, before your trade mark is cancelled. What these businesses are hoping is that you don’t read the fine print and pay them the amount demanded.
How to check your trade mark renewal before you pay
IP Australia manages the renewal and registration of trade marks (and other IP). Unless you have given authority to a third party to manage your trade marks (eg. your lawyer) your renewal will be sent directly from IP Australia.
Here are four quick and easy tips to help you check that your renewal notice is from IP Australia and not a third party:
- Use the IP Australia trade mark search and look up your trade mark. From here, you’ll be able to see when it is due for renewal. In some cases, the third party notices state renewal dates that are years before the trade mark is due to expire.
- Check the website and email addresses on the renewal notice or email. If they don’t end in ‘.gov.au’, it’s not from an official government agency or connected with IP Australia.
- Refer to IP Australia’s list of companies that send unsolicited trade mark notices.
- Check before you pay. If you’re unsure if a government renewal notice is the real deal, contact the agency direct (in this case, IP Australia) or contact us for advice.
Tip: Be aware of other scams related to managing IP rights. Visit the IP Australia website to find out more.
What to do if you renewed with a third party by mistake
While you’re unlikely to have the extra fee refunded, we recommend contacting IP Australia to discuss your situation, and to check the trade mark is still registered under your name, not that of the third party.
More information
- Learn more about the importance of protecting your intellectual property.
- Sign up to our SBDC small business news to get the latest information to help you run your business.
