Businesses invest substantial time and resources in developing their intellectual property, yet too often fail to put in place the measures needed to properly protect it.
Hunt & Hunt advises Australian and international businesses on intellectual property rights under Australian law, including trade mark registration and proceedings before IP Australia, copyright, designs, confidential information, commercialisation and IP disputes. Where intellectual property issues extend beyond Australia, we work with our broader national and international network to help clients protect, manage and enforce their rights across multiple jurisdictions.
Intellectual property is a critical commercial asset. Hunt & Hunt works with clients to protect, grow and enforce their rights, ensuring that value is not only created, but preserved.
Hunt & Hunt approaches IP and trade marks with the same commercial discipline we bring to disputes and transactions: identify what matters, protect what creates value, and avoid that which wastes time and money without improving the outcome.
This means building practical protection strategies early (before a brand or product launch, rebranding, procurement or joint venture), and moving decisively when an infringement, misappropriation or brand-confusion risk emerges.
Our IP team advises on both protection and enforcement, across trade marks, copyright, patents, designs, confidential information and related technology and IT matters. We work with clients across the private and public sectors, including organisations operating in technology and software, retail, construction, education, transport, healthcare and government.
Trade marks protect business names, product and service names, logos and slogans, the assets that customers recognise and which competitors sometimes misuse. We assist with trade mark strategy and brand risk, including:
Trade mark protection also needs to be actively managed as a business and its brands evolve. Read more about what can happen when a registered trade mark is not used, when a rebrand may require a new trade mark application, and the issues involved in buying or selling a trade mark or brand.
Copyright typically arises automatically on creation, but “automatic” does not mean self-enforcing. We assist with:
Ownership is particularly important where intellectual property has been created by employees, contractors, developers, designers or agencies. Our guide to what businesses get wrong about IP ownership explains why paying for work to be created does not necessarily mean the business owns the resulting intellectual property.
Patents protect the way a new invention works; designs protect the visual appearance of a new product or its packaging. We assist with:
Many of the most valuable IP assets are never registered. They are operational know-how, data, methods and commercial information. We assist with:
Prevention and rapid action are both important. We have looked separately at using confidentiality agreements to protect valuable business information and what businesses can do when a former employee takes confidential information.
IP rarely sits neatly in a box. It runs through software licensing, procurement, implementation and support of mission-critical systems, and e-commerce. We advise on technology and licensing arrangements with a focus on enforceability, risk allocation and business continuity.
IP disputes are rarely just about legal rights. We approach IP litigation with a focus on outcomes that make business sense, managing risk, cost and reputation while resolving disputes efficiently. Where IP litigation is necessary, we act decisively; where strategy and early resolution deliver better value, we advise accordingly.
Brand and trade mark disputes can involve infringement, opposition proceedings, misleading conduct and questions about the extent of a business's reputation. Our analysis of the Lord of the Fries trade mark opposition shows how those issues can play out in practice.
Trade marks and IP should be considered core business assets — not optional extras. We help you protect, enforce and commercialise your rights early, avoid costly disputes and turn your ideas and brands into a defensible competitive advantage.
IP disputes are rarely just about legal rights. We approach IP litigation with a focus on outcomes that make business sense, managing risk, cost and reputation while resolving disputes efficiently. Where IP litigation is necessary, we act decisively; where strategy and early resolution deliver better value, we advise accordingly.
Learn moreStrong legal foundations support better commercial decisions relating to IP. We advise on corporate transactions, governance and commercial arrangements with a practical understanding of how businesses operate, helping clients manage risk, structure deals effectively and move with confidence at every stage of the business lifecycle.
Learn moreDoing business in Asia requires more than legal knowledge, it requires cultural insight, local understanding and practical judgment. We advise clients on cross-border transactions, market entry and regulatory risk across key Asian jurisdictions, including in relation to IP issues, delivering clear, commercially focused advice that supports confident decision-making in complex environments.
Learn moreHunt & Hunt's intellectual property capability combines trade mark registration and brand protection with commercialisation, technology advice and IP litigation. Our lawyers advise Australian and international businesses on protecting, managing and enforcing intellectual property rights, from establishing ownership and securing trade mark protection through to licensing, infringement disputes and complex litigation.
The team includes James Orr, Special Counsel, a Registered Trade Marks Attorney with more than 15 years' experience and a Masters in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Melbourne. Our broader IP capability includes lawyers experienced in trade mark strategy and portfolio management, copyright, brand protection, commercialisation and intellectual property disputes, including internationally recognised IP practitioners within the Hicksons | Hunt & Hunt | Holman Webb group.
We advise national and multinational businesses, public sector organisations and private clients across a wide range of industries, including technology and software, retail, construction, education, transport and healthcare.
A trade mark identifies your goods or services and distinguishes them from those of other businesses. In Australia, trade marks can protect business and product names, service names, logos, words, phrases, images, slogans, shapes, colours, sounds, aspects of packaging and combinations of these elements.
Registering a trade mark generally provides stronger legal protection and can give the owner exclusive rights to use, license and protect the mark for the goods and services covered by the registration.
Registering a business name does not give you ownership of that name or prevent another business from using a similar name. A business name is essentially the name under which you trade and is registered through ASIC.
A registered trade mark is different. It can provide enforceable rights throughout Australia for the goods and services covered by the registration. This means a business can have a registered business name but still encounter problems if that name conflicts with someone else's trade mark.
Ideally, businesses should consider trade mark registration before investing heavily in a new business name, product, service, logo or brand.
Searching existing trade marks before launch can identify potential conflicts early, while registration can help protect the investment being made in building the brand. This is particularly important when entering new markets, launching new products or services, franchising, licensing intellectual property or expanding internationally.
Yes. Businesses and individuals can apply directly to IP Australia to register a trade mark.
However, a successful application involves more than submitting a name or logo. It is important to carefully consider existing trade marks, whether to apply for the whole or part of a trade mark, the most suitable description of goods and services given your business and existing trade mark registrations, and risks relating to descriptive trade marks. Problems identified at this stage can avoid future objections, additional costs or disputes with other trade mark owners.
Legal advice can be particularly valuable where a brand is commercially important, an application is complex or IP Australia raises objections to registration.
An Australian trade mark registration lasts for 10 years and can be renewed for further 10-year periods.
Unlike some forms of intellectual property, a trade mark can therefore potentially remain protected indefinitely, provided the registration is renewed and the mark continues to meet the legal requirements for protection.
The options available depend on what has been copied, whether you have a registered trade mark and how the other party is using it.
If another business uses a sign that infringes a registered trade mark, the trade mark owner may be able to take action to stop the use and seek other remedies. Businesses with unregistered trade marks may also have rights in some circumstances, including where another party's conduct misleads consumers or takes advantage of an established reputation.
Early advice is important. Trade mark and branding disputes can often be resolved without court proceedings, but delaying action can make the commercial and legal position more difficult.
It is preferable to monitor for infringements of your trade mark, by regularly searching for new trade mark applications, business name registrations and company names which potentially infringe your trade mark. Early identification of infringements and notification of infringers can avoid potentially costly disputes.
Yes. “Trademark” and “trade mark” mean the same thing, but in Australia the correct legal term is “trade mark”.
“Trademark” is the more common American spelling and is also widely used in online searches, while “trade mark” is the spelling used in Australian legislation, by IP Australia and in Australian legal practice. In practical terms, both refer to the same concept: a sign used to distinguish the goods or services of one business from those of another.
For Australian businesses, it is generally best to use “trade mark” in formal content, while also recognising that many clients and search users will search for “trademark”.
No. Copyright protection is automatic in Australia and there is no formal system for registering copyright.
Protection generally arises when qualifying original material is created, rather than through an application or registration process. This makes it particularly important for businesses to keep good records of who created material, when it was created, the creation process, and any agreements dealing with ownership or use.
Not necessarily. Paying an employee, contractor, designer, developer, photographer or agency to create something does not always mean the business automatically owns all of the intellectual property in that work.
Ownership depends on factors including who created the material, the circumstances in which it was created and the terms of any employment or contractor agreement. Businesses commissioning valuable creative or technical work should ensure their contracts clearly deal with intellectual property ownership and licensing.
Copyright protects the original expression of ideas rather than the ideas themselves. It can apply to material including written works, photographs, technical or creative drawings, logos, other artwork, music, software, films and sound recordings.
Copyright generally does not prevent another person from independently developing the same idea. This distinction can be particularly important when businesses are developing content, software, designs, marketing material and other commercial assets.
A registered design protects the visual appearance of a product rather than simply the idea behind it or the way it functions.
Design protection can apply to visual features such as shape, configuration, pattern and ornamentation. For businesses whose products derive commercial value from a distinctive appearance, registration can provide important protection against competitors producing products with substantially similar overall appearances.
An Australian registered design can be protected for up to 10 years. Registration initially lasts for five years and can be renewed once for a further five-year period.
Registration and enforcement are separate steps. Before a registered design can generally be enforced against another party, it must be examined and certified by IP Australia.
Where possible, businesses should consider design protection before publicly launching, displaying or promoting a new product.
Australia has a grace period that may allow a design to be registered after certain public disclosures, provided the requirements are met. However, early advice is preferable, particularly where overseas protection may also be required, as disclosure can affect rights differently in other countries.
Patents can protect new inventions including devices, substances, methods and processes, provided they satisfy the legal requirements for patent protection.
Not every new idea is patentable. Among other requirements, an invention generally needs to be new, involve the required level of inventiveness and have practical utility. Assessing patentability usually involves considering both the invention itself and existing technology or knowledge in Australia and overseas.
Ideally, patent protection should be considered before an invention is publicly disclosed, demonstrated, sold or published.
Public disclosure can affect whether an invention is considered new. Australian law provides grace-period protection for some disclosures made within the preceding 12 months, but relying on a grace period can create additional risks, particularly if international patent protection is contemplated. Confidentiality and patent strategy should therefore be considered before disclosure wherever possible.
An Australian patent can provide protection for up to 20 years from the relevant filing date, provided required renewal fees are paid.
Certain pharmaceutical patents may qualify for an extension of up to five additional years. Patent protection is territorial, so an Australian patent does not provide patent rights in other countries.
Last updated: August 2026
Legal content reviewed by: James Orr, Special Counsel, Registered Trade Marks Attorney
