Legal Documents

Having a registered trade mark allows you to prevent others from infringing your intellectual property rights. The head start process brings a report back from IP Australia within 5 business days (what would otherwise normally take 2 months). This quick turnaround gives the modern fast-paced entrepreneur more comfort in using their business name / logo / slogan in the marketplace.

We charge a flat fee $950 + GST + government charges to file a trade mark, then $350 + GST for ongoing management of the trade mark up to final registration.

A Trade Mark Application in New Zealand is a formal request made to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) for the registration of a trade mark, which can include logos, slogans, or brand names, to protect intellectual property rights.

The application typically involves providing detailed information about the mark, its intended use, and the goods or services it will represent. It undergoes a rigorous examination process, including a search for conflicting marks, before being published for potential opposition. If approved, the trademark is registered, granting the owner exclusive rights to use it in connection with the specified goods or services within New Zealand.

An international trade mark application through the Madrid Protocol is a streamlined process allowing trade mark owners to seek protection in multiple member countries by filing a single application with their national or regional trade mark office.

The application is then transmitted to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for examination and subsequent designation to the chosen member countries. Each designated country conducts its examination, leading to individual decisions on registration. This cost-effective and efficient system simplifies the process of securing trademark protection across various jurisdictions, facilitating international business expansion and the safeguarding of intellectual property rights on a global scale.

A person may apply to the Registrar to have a trade mark removed from the Register where the trade mark owner is not currently using or has never used the trade mark (commonly referred to as a “non-use application”) (section 92).

The purpose of the removal provision is to ensure that the Register does not unnecessarily contain trade marks that others may wish to use. Non-use applications are often filed by applicants for trade mark registration seeking the removal of trade marks cited against their proposed trade marks during examination.

Any party (usually the trade mark owner) may formally oppose a non-use application by filing a Notice of Intention to Oppose. The Notice must be in an approved form and filed within two months after the non-use application is advertised in the Australian Official Journal of Trade Marks. An approved form of the Notice can be electronically filed on the IP Australia website with our help.

The party opposing the non-use application is referred to as the “opponent” and the process is referred to as an “opposition”. Learn more about Trade Mark Oppositions here.

You may be entitled to apply for an extension of time if you miss a deadline in one of the stages of the trade mark application process. For this, you’ll need to outline the reasons why you need an extension.

Some situations where an extension of may be permitted include:

• an error/ omission by yourself, your employees, agent or solicitor; or
• circumstances beyond your control, such as sickness or accident (not having the money to pay a fee or being extremely busy don’t count).

A trade mark registration may be renewed every ten years. There’s no limit to the number of times a trade mark registration may be renewed.

The Registrar will inform you when your trade mark renewal is successful and will let you know the renewal period.

A letter of consent to a trade mark is a legal document wherein the owner of an existing trade mark provides written authorisation or consent for another party to register a similar or potentially conflicting trade mark.

This letter serves to indicate that the owner of the existing trade mark does not perceive the new mark as a threat to their brand and is willing to coexist in the marketplace without any potential confusion or dilution of the distinctiveness of their own mark. The letter of consent helps demonstrate to the relevant authorities that both parties have acknowledged and agreed upon the concurrent use of similar or related trade marks without any anticipated conflict.

An IP licence agreement is a contract used to grant certain rights in an IP asset (e.g. trade mark, copyright, trade secret).

The licence grants permission to another entity to use the IP for a specified purpose(s), defined and limited by the IP licence agreement.

A cease and desist letter or otherwise referred to as a notice of infringement, is a letter used to put a person (or other legal entity) on notice that they are infringing your IP rights. Typically, this is often the ‘first step’ before attempting to settle the dispute or commence proceedings.

It is important that you seek advice from a lawyer before sending a cease and desist letter. A person may commence legal proceedings on the grounds that the allegation (the cease and desist letter) is an ‘unjustified threat’ (i.e. the allegations are without merit). Therefore, advice should be sought to ensure that the allegations are warranted.

Please note: our fixed fee only applies for basic, simple, non-complex cease and desist letters. Our costs may vary depending on your matter.

This is required if you need to transfer your trade mark from one entity to another. This may be because you have started a company and no longer operate as a sole trader, or for example, you want to transfer your IP assets to a holding company.

Whatever the reason, it is crucial that the transfer is effective to avoid any serious repercussions in the future. This is particularly pertinent where the transfer is part of the sale of a business or other transaction where the trade mark(s) are of particular value in relation to the goodwill in the business.

A deed of assignment of IP is a contract that assigns specified IP rights from one entity to another. Typically, a deed of assignment transfers all rights (both presently existing and arising in the future) to the other entity (or entities). In that regard, it is important that the deed of assignment clearly defines what rights are being assigned and identifies the subject matter and what type of IP rights exist in the subject matter and can be assigned.

Filing a trade mark assignment is necessary when there is a transfer of ownership of a trade mark from one entity to another.

Are you a business who has staff or contractors that use your trade mark in the course of their employment/contract?
If so, a Trade Mark Policy is a vital document to ensure that your business and its trade mark is adequately protected.
If you would like to have a chat about a Trade Mark Policy specifically for your business, please get in touch.

A letter of demand is sent to someone who you believe owes you money. It cautions the person that you intend to take legal action if the person ignores the demands of your letter.

It is important to distinctly specify your belief that the person owes you money, and how much you believe they owe.

A letter of demand gives the other person a last chance to pay you money owed. It shows a court that you provided them with a reasonable opportunity to address the demands of the letter, and will be used as evidence of your attempts to settle the matter.

A letter of demand is a letter sent to you from someone that is asking you for money to be paid.

Some of your options after receiving a letter of demand are:

1. ​Agree that you owe the money;
2. Deny that you owe the money, and give an explanation why;
3. Ask for more information;
4. Negotiate i.e. offer to pay a lower amount to settle the dispute.

When writing to the person that sent you the letter of demand, remember that anything you say could be used against you as evidence in court. We recommend that you double check any facts such as money amounts and/or dates to ensure that what you believe is correct.

If you’re having a dispute with another party who owes you money or goods and you and you want to take the matter to court, you generally begin the process by filing a Statement of Claim. This is where the person issuing the Statement of Claim (the applicant) gives details of what they claim to be the facts in the dispute.

A creditor may serve a statutory demand on a debtor company requiring it to pay a debt due and if the company fails to pay it within the period for compliance (21 days after service). The statutory demand procedure is a useful method for recovering a debt as a fast-track alternative to litigation but should not be used where either or both of the following applies:

1. The existence or amount of the debt is disputed.
2. The debtor company has an offsetting claim (being a counterclaim, set-off or cross-demand) sufficient to entirely offset or reduce the claimed debt to less than the statutory minimum of $2,000.

A cease and desist letter or otherwise referred to as a notice of infringement, is a letter used to put a person (or other legal entity) on notice that they are infringing your IP rights. Typically, this is often the ‘first step’ before attempting to settle the dispute or commence proceedings.

It is important that you seek advice from a lawyer before sending a cease and desist letter. A person may commence legal proceedings on the grounds that the allegation (the cease and desist letter) is an ‘unjustified threat’ (i.e. the allegations are without merit). Therefore, advice should be sought to ensure that the allegations are warranted.

Please note: our fixed fee only applies for basic, simple, non-complex cease and desist letters. Our costs may vary depending on your matter.