If you are a business owner in Australia, wishing to register a trademark to protect the identity of your brand, you should be aware of the new pre-approved terms of goods and services introduced by WIPO. Since trademarks are the priceless assets of your business that protect the individuality of your brand, you should never delay the process of trademark registration. So, before registering a trademark for your business, learn more about the New WIPO Pre-Approved Terms for Goods and Services that are Available to Australian Trademark Applicants in this blog!
WIPO Pre-Approved Terms for Goods and Services – The Overview
To enhance the process of trademark registrations of the Australian trademark applications, WIPO (The World Intellectual Property Organization) has brought into effect some set of pre-approved terms for goods and services. These sets of pre-approved terms are introduced to focus on making the trademark process easier for Australian applicants. Firstly, these pre-approved terms consist of standardized descriptions of goods and services that are accurately defined. They are obtainable through the Global Brand Database, from which applicants can choose the terms to represent their goods and services with maximum accuracy. These terms are periodically updated in the database with respect to technical and commercial changes to make sure the terms are appropriate and comprehensive enough to define the goods and services.
Advantages of the Pre-Approved Terms
Some complications commonly arise during the process of trademark registration due to applicants’ way of defining their products and services in the trademark applications. If applicants define their products vaguely or inappropriately in the trademark applications, the applications will be most likely to be delayed or rejected by the WIPO. Surprisingly, the applications might also be rejected if the descriptions are too extensive.
To avoid such delays and rejections of Australian trademark applications, these terms are brought into effect. Additionally, these terms also improve the efficiency of the trademark registration process and benefit a lot of businesses in protecting their brand identity. Other than minimized rejections, some of the notable benefits are listed below.
Quick Trademark Registrations
One of the delaying processes in trademark registrations is drafting the description from scratch for the goods and services that are going to be trademarked. Now, it is not necessary since the applicants can simply find the relevant terms available in the database that best describe their products. Hence, the applicants can focus on the other processes involved in trademark registration without spending much time on drafting an appropriate description. Improves Consistency: If all the trademark applications use standardized terms to define their products, consistency will be achieved. Hence, trademark examiners and professionals will find it effective to analyze the trademark application without any confusion or misinterpretations. Compatible with Global Standards: These pre-approved terms are introduced in accordance with global standards. Therefore, Australian business owners who wish to expand their business internationally can effectively register their trademarks with other countries because of these
pre-approved terms
How to Use Pre-Approved Terms in Trademark Applications Australian business owners enjoy the benefits of pre-approved terms in numerous ways by effectively incorporating the terms in their applications. Firstly, the applicants should search for description terms that are relevant to their products and services in the Global Brand Database of WIPO. Once the appropriate terms are decided, they can include them in their application through Australia’s online filing system and then submit their applications. Since these pre-approved terms are standardized, incorporation of these terms can result in faster approval of Australian trademark applications.
Challenges Associated with These Pre-Approved Terms
Despite the benefits of including these pre-approved terms in the trademark application, there are some challenges associated with these terms. If a business produces goods and services that are too unique from other brands, these standardized terms may not be sufficient enough to describe such distinctive aspects. Also, the commercial and technical changes in the market can lead to the modification of such pre-approved terms. So, the applicants need to stay updated with these terms to make sure their descriptions remain in compliance and appropriate. Therefore, while drafting your trademark applications, make sure to seek legal help to keep your application in adherence to the trademark laws.
Conclusion
WIPO helps Australian Trademark applicants to register their trademarks and protect effectively their brands by introducing these pre-approved standardized terms. Since these pre-approved terms can reduce the rate of rejections and speed up the process of trademark registration, make sure to utilize these pre-approved terms in your trademark applications with the help of legal professionals.
Brealant is an IP firm that helps you protect your business by registering trademarks, copyrights, and patents. Our attorneys will assist you throughout the registration process and clarify your queries related to IP protection. Contact us right now to book a free demo with our professionals!