Trade marks, patent oppositions, and design rights disputes are different from intellectual property infringement proceedings conducted in the Federal Court of Australia. These opposition/dispute proceedings are administrative proceedings conducted by the Trade Hearings Office of IP Australia.
This difference means that these proceedings conducted by IP Australia are less costly and time consuming than Federal Court proceedings but still a highly regulated process. The relevant Trade Marks, Patents and Designs Acts and their corresponding govern that process.
Your trade mark, patent and design rights are valuable rights. Those rights, once registered or granted, are legally enforceable rights and business assets. For these reasons, if you find yourself on the receiving end of an opposition or dispute, it is important to put a strong strategy in place to defend it.
On the other hand, if you become aware of a mark, patent or design application filed by a competitor that is too similar to your pre-existing rights or might adversely affect your business operations, there may be a strong business case to oppose/dispute it to prevent it being registered or granted.
Like any business expense, deciding to protect trade mark rights through the trade mark opposition process requires a careful cost-benefit analysis. We understand that. Our approach is to understand your business objectives, understand where any potential opposition fits within those objectives and then provide you with all your relevant options and strategic considerations.