Time and costs
Application Timeframes
Trade marks generally take three to four months to examine from the day they are filed.
If you believe that you will be seriously disadvantaged because of the time taken between filing and examination, you can request that your application be examined sooner. There are no fees associated with lodging an application to expedite your application. However, it must be accompanied by a witnessed declaration detailing the reasons for your request.
Meeting requirements
The Trade Marks Act 1995 allows you 15 months from the date of the examiner's first report to meet any requirements identified by the examiner and to have your application accepted by the registrar.
If you need more time you can request and pay for an extension of time. From 15 to 21 months, you can be granted an extension on payment of the appropriate fee, if your request is made before the date specified in the examiner's report.
If you wish to make a late request or a request for an extension beyond 21 months, you must accompany it with the appropriate fee and make the request on specific grounds. You also need to provide a witnessed declaration supporting the grounds which explain the reasons why you need more time.
Not all late requests or requests for an extension beyond 21 months are accepted and fees are not refundable.
If your trade mark application is not accepted and it runs out of time, it will lapse.
Registration
The registration fee must be paid no later than six months from the date acceptance is advertised.
We will record the details of your trade mark in the Register of Trade Marks, then send you a certificate of registration. Your trade mark will be registered from the date you filed your application - not from the date it was examined or accepted.
The earliest date your trade mark can be registered is around seven and a half months after an application is filed. This fulfills our international obligations to allow six months for applicants to claim a priority date based on an overseas filing.
Renewal
The initial period of registration of your trade mark lasts for 10 years (calculated from the filing date).
You can renew the registration of your trade mark between 12 months before the renewal is due or up to 6 months after its expiry date. Additional fees apply if the registration is renewed after the expiry date.
We will send you a renewal reminder notice to the address for service recorded on our database, advising the timeframes for renewal and how to make payment. It is important that you notify our office in writing, if you change your address for service otherwise you will not receive your reminder notice for renewal.
The registrar will renew your trade mark registration when all applicable fees are paid.
Please note that fees are subject to change. GST does not apply to these statutory fees under Division 81 of the GST Act 1999.
Last Updated: 06/12/2012
