Intellectual Property Point-in-Time Updates

The Intellectual Property Point-in-Time Service has been updated to include the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Regulator Performance) Act 2023 (Cth) (Act No 91 of 2023).

Act 91 of 2023

This Act makes improvements to Australia’s intellectual property (IP) system to ensure existing legislation meets its intended policy objectives. It aims to increase certainty, correct minor inconsistencies and enable users to engage with IP in a modern and flexible way.

Specifically, the Act will:

• amend the Olympic Insignia Protection Act 1987 (Cth) to clarify that only the AOC and IOC are permitted to register Olympic insignia as trade marks in Australia;
• address inconsistencies in the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth) (Trade Marks Act) and simplify the administration of trade mark renewals by aligning grace periods for payments of a fee for renewal of a trade mark registration to a consistent 6-month duration;
• better align the provisions for revoking registration in those circumstances with other current oppositions processes;
• permit restoration of a trade mark to the Register of Trade Marks if an extension of time is obtained to file evidence in support of an opposition to trade mark removal;
• remove all references to the Official Journal of Trade Marks in the Trade Marks Act and replace it with terms related to the Office Journal.

These amendments have been updated in the Point-in-Time Intellectual Property Service current to 1 December 2023. (NB: Subscription required).

If you are not already a subscriber to this or other Point-in-Time Services then please contact us to find out more or to take a free trial.