Help your business take off overseas
16 May 2011
If you are ready to start exporting or have recently launched your new website it is time to think about how you are going to protect your intellectual property (IP) overseas.
You may already have IP protection in Australia but you must remember that Australian IP registration only provides protection in Australia. Once your Australian registration is granted, the clock starts ticking and you need to think about filing your foreign applications within 12 months (for patents) and six months (for trade marks and designs).
As soon as you have identified the foreign markets you wish to trade in, you need to decide whether to file separate IP applications in those countries directly or make use of international agreements, which allow you to seek protection in several countries at once.
Protecting your IP oversees can seem overwhelming, that is why IP Australia has developed a suite of fact sheets called IP Passport. The fact sheets outline foreign IP regimes and focus on some of the IP issues and challenges which may be faced by Australia exporters.
The extensive suite covers 11 countries including - Canada, China, Korea, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the United States of America. There are also two general fact sheets on exporting and importing which help businesses think about how their IP can be protected and what needs to be considered when importing or exporting.
Last Updated: 15/9/2012
