The IP year for Australia and New Zealand
This is an Insight article, written by a selected partner as part of IAM's co-published content. Read more on Insight
Australia’s Raising the Bar provisions took effect on April 15 2013. Changes to trademark law include shortening the timeframe for opposing accepted trademarks from three months to two. The act also tightened opposition procedures, including a requirement to file a statement of grounds and particulars within one month of filing a notice of intention to oppose. Previously, notices of opposition could be filed claiming all available grounds and did not have to be refined until much later in the process. The practical implication of this change is that opponents now need to think about actual grounds of opposition much earlier.
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