IP rights at a glance
There are various types of IP protection available with different requirements and benefits.
Standard patent
A standard patent is granted for any device, substance, method or process that is new, inventive and useful.
Example
The Cochlear bionic ear implant is a device designed to help the hearing impaired and the profoundly deaf who are unable to benefit from traditional hearing aids.
Cochlear Pty Ltd has over 700 patents and patent applications worldwide protecting key features of the implant. The University of Melbourne and the Australian Government also hold patents covering early research, which have been licensed to Cochlear.
Do you need to apply for protection?
Yes. You can apply for up to 20 years of protection (25 years for some pharmaceutical products). Renewal fees apply.
International IP rights
An Australian patent provides protection only within Australia. To obtain similar protection in other countries you generally have two choices:
- Make separate patent applications in each country. This can be cost effective when you file in only a few countries.
- File a single international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Benefits
A patent gives you the right to stop others from using and selling your invention. You can manufacture and commercialise an invention yourself or you can assign or license your patent to others.
Innovation patent
Less expensive than a standard patent, an innovation patent is suited to small business innovations with a short commercial life, which are not sufficiently inventive to qualify for standard patent protection.
Example
The 'Stubbyglove', a cross between a drink cooler and a glove, is used to keep your drink cold without making your hand cold. Neither a drink cooler nor a glove are new and inventive, however when put together they are a unique product and qualify for an innovation patent.
Find out how an Innovation patent was used to protect the 'Stubbyglove' in our case study - Innovation patent for a new mix of old ideas.
Do you need to apply for protection?
Yes. Apply for up to eight years of protection. Renewal fees apply.
International IP rights
An innovation patent application can be used to claim priority when applying for a patent overseas, using either the separate application or the international application route.
Benefits
Inexpensive and relatively fast to obtain, an innovation patent offers the same level of protection as a standard patent if examined and certified.
Trade mark
A trade mark can be a letter, number, word, phrase, sound, smell, shape, logo, picture,aspect of packaging, or combination of these, that distinguishes your goods and/or services from those of other traders.
Example
QANTAS and the winged kangaroo logo are registered trade marks. Read how Qantas uses Trade Mark Protection for an airline brand.
Do you need to apply for protection?
There is no legal requirement to register your trade mark. Registration establishes your legal rights to take action against another party and prevent them from using your trade mark without permission.
If you decide that common law protection for your trade mark is sufficient, you will need to rely on protection through legal action, such as passing off under common law. Such an action can be difficult, expensive and time consuming.
International IP rights
When applying for overseas trade mark protection, you have two choices:
- Apply separately in each country
- Make use of the Madrid Protocol, which allows you to apply to any or all of the countries that have signed the treaty. The Madrid Protocol is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Benefits
A trade mark protects the identity of your goods and services and is a vital element in developing and maintaining a brand.
Design
A registered design protects the way manufactured products look. Specifically, design refers to the visual features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation of a product.
Example
Ken Done printed bedsheets are registered designs.
Registration prevents other manufacturers from producing bedsheets bearing the same printed patterns.
Do you need to apply for protection?
Yes. Apply for up to 10 years of protection. Renewal fees apply.
International IP rights
Applications for international designs will generally need to be filed in for each country in which design protection is being sought.
Australia is a signatory to certain international treaties governing industrial designs. To ensure your Australian and overseas applications are concurrent, you must lodge the convention application internationally within six months of filing your application in Australia.
Benefits
A registered design that has been examined and certified gives you a legally enforceable right to use your product's design to gain a marketing edge.
Plant breeder's rights (PBR)
Plant breeder's rights are exclusive commercial rights to a registered plant variety. The rights are a form of intellectual property like patents and trade marks.
Example
The 'Pink Iceberg' rose, 'Drysdale' wheat and the 'Shalistin' grape are some of the varieties protected by PBR. Find out more about these protected plant varieties in our following case studies:
Do you need to apply for protection?
Yes. Apply for 25 years of protection for tree and vine varieties and 20 years for all other varieties.
International IP rights
There is no international system for filing PBR and generally international applications need to be lodged in each country where protection is being sought. The European Community is an exception, where a single application relates to protection in all participating countries.
Benefits
PBR protection allows you to exclude others from:
- producing or reproducing the material
- conditioning the material for the purpose of propagation
- offering the material for sale
- selling the material
- importing the material
- exporting the material
- stocking the material for any of the purposes described above.
Copyright
Copyright protects the original expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. It protects your original works of art, literature, music, films, broadcasts and computer programs from unauthorised copying.
Example
Photos, paintings, drawings, poems, novels, songs and movies are just a few examples of the many works protected by copyright.
Do you need to apply for protection?
No. Copyright is free and automatic in Australia and generally lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator.
Copyright legislation is administered by the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department.
International IP rights
Australia is party to a number of international treaties regarding copyright.
For more information about international copyright protection see the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department.
Benefits
Copyright protects your original works from unauthorised copying and gives you exclusive rights to licence the work.
Trade secrets and confidentiality
Trade secrets and confidentiality mean the same thing - maintaining secrecy.
Trade secrets are useful when the IP is unlikely to be registered (or is not registrable) or if you wish to retain exclusive use of the IP beyond the term of a patent.
Example
The recipe for Coca-Cola is a trade secret.
Do you need to apply for protection?
No. Confidentiality agreements may need to be drawn up with people who are party to the trade secret.
International IP rights
Companies should take the necessary measures to ensure that their trade secrets are protected in all international markets.
Benefits
Trade secrets are most useful when reverse engineering the process or formula is difficult, and/or you are operating in markets in which IP enforcement is difficult.
Last Updated: 10/1/2013
