Sunday 2 July 2006 marks the 100th anniversary of the first federally registered trade mark in Australia. The Trade Marks Office officially began in Melbourne, Victoria under the direction of George Townsend, who was the Registrar of Trade Marks and Commissioner of Patents.
The first federal enactment was the Trade Marks Act 1905 (Commonwealth) which commenced on 2 July 1906. On the first day it came into operation, more than 750 applications were lodged and PEPS, a product for coughs, colds and bronchitis, was the first federally registered trade mark. Since that time, over 1 million registrations have been granted. In the 2004-05 financial year, IP Australia received 86,668 trade mark applications and registered 50,123 trade marks.
Trade marks are important to Australia economically and socially. We connect with brands at a personal level and associate them with moments in our own lives. The character of our country, our innovation and creativity can be reflected in many trade marks. Good trade marks assist in making products successful and add to the prosperity Australians enjoy.
This online vote is commemorates and celebrates the rich history of trade marks in Australia. Not only have some of these trade marks become household names but we all remember growing up with them. We remember eating vegemite spread on toast or Weetbix cereal for breakfast, shopping at David Jones and watching the Wallabies entertain us. These experiences form our emotional attachment to these well loved trade marks.
IP Australia had a staff competition to design a logo. The winning Trade Marks’ Centenary logo was designed by Sally Monck, a member of IP Australia’s team since 2004, who was inspired to create a fun, light hearted design that would be simple and easy to recognise. This trade mark will be used throughout the Centenary year on promotional materials such as flyers, stickers, and on the IP Australia Trade Marks’ Centenary website.
A number of other activities will also be conducted during the Centenary year. Seminars in each state are to be held, a poster has been developed for school children on intellectual property and an interactive timeline on trade marks will be developed for the website.
This page will be updated with information on upcoming events and activities.
For more information on trade marks, visit:
Media centre:
www.ipaustralia.gov.au/media/pages/whatis/trademarks.htm#wht
IP Australia home page:
www.ipaustralia.gov.au
Trade mark application kit:
www.ipaustralia.gov.au/pdfs/trademarks/kit.pdf
Assisted Filing Service:
www.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademarks/assistfiling.shtml
Database of pending and registered marks:
http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/atmoss/falcon.application_start