Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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TRADE MARKS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 346

STATUTORY RULES 1997 No. 346

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism

Trade Marks Act 1995

Trade Marks Regulations (Amendment)

The Statutory Rules amend the Trade Marks Regulations (the Regulations) to:

*       provide that current applicants for registration of a trade mark are not adversely affected by the reduction in time allowed under regulation 4.5 of the Regulations;

*       reduce the period specified in regulation 4.5 of the Regulations in which an applicant may make a claim for priority under section 29 of the Act from 6 months to 2 working days;

*       amend regulation 22.2 of the Regulations by omitting subregulations (3) and (4) as there are now no fees payable for filing evidence or filing draft rules in support of defensive and certification trade marks respectively,

*       amend the fees payable as set out in Schedule 9 to the Regulations to reflect the revised fees to be charged by the Australian Industrial Property Organisation (AIPO) from 1 January 1998; and

*       update the list of Convention countries in Schedule 10 to the Regulations declared by virtue of regulation 21.29 of the Regulations for the purposes of section 225 of the Act,

Details of the amendments made by these Statutory Rules are as follows:

Regulation 1 sets 1 January 1998 as the commencement date for regulations 5 and 6. Regulations 1, 2 and 7 commenced on the date of gazettal and Regulation 3 and 4 are to commence on 1 February 1998.

Regulation 2 identifies the Trade Marks Regulations as those amended.

Regulation 3 provides that regulation 4 of these Statutory Rules applies only to applications filed in Australia on or after 1 February 1998.

Regulation 4 reduces the period prescribed in regulation 4.5 of the Regulations, during which an applicant may make a claim for priority under section 29 of the Act, from 6 months after the application for registration is filed to 2 working days.

Regulation 5 amends regulation 22.2 of the Regulations by omitting subregulations (3) and (4). Fees relating to filing evidence in support of a defensive trade mark application, and filing a copy of the draft rules in support of a certification trade mark application have been deleted from Schedule 9 to the Regulations.

Regulation 6 substitutes Schedule 9 to the Regulations with a revised schedule to:

* reduce the level of foes payable for:

-       filing an application for registration of a trade mark-the the for the first class has been reduced from $200 to $150;

-       filing an application to register two or more trade marks under section 51 of the Actapplicants will pay $200 per application instead of $200 for filing an application for registration plus $65 for each additional trade mark on the application;

-       supply of a certificate of the Registrar from $75 to $15,

-       supply of an additional certificate of the Registrar from $65 to $15, and

-       the first class of a single registration under section 68 of the Act has reduced from $360 to $300.

* delete fees payable for:

-       filing applications where the representation is larger than 8cm x 8cm;

-       filing evidence supporting a defensive trade mark application under regulation 17.1 of the Regulations;

-       filing a copy of the rules governing use of a certification trade mark application under section 173 of the, Act,

-       requesting deferment of acceptance of an application under regulation 4.13 of the Regulations;

-       requesting expedition of examination of an application under regulation 4.18 of the Regulations,

-       filing an application to record an assignment or transmission of a trade mark under section 107 or 109 of the Act;

-       filing an application to record a clam to an interests in, or a right in respect of a trade mark under section 113 or 117 of the Act, and

-       requesting amendment or cancellation of recorded particulars of a claim to an interests in, or a right in respect to a trade mark under regulation 11.1 or 11.3 of the Regulations.

Regulation 7 substitutes Schedule 10 to the Regulations with a revised schedule which:

*       inserts Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Datussalam, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Hong Kong China, India, Jamaica, Kuwait, Macau, Maldives, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania and Thailand. The effect is that, under regulation 21.29 of the Regulations, each of these countries is declared to be a "Convention country" for the purposes of section 225 the Act;

*       deletes the reference to Hong Kong from the United Kingdom entry, and

*       deletes the reference to Zaire as this country has become the Democratic Republic of the Congo.