Registering Non-Traditional Signs as Trade Marks in Australia: A Retrospective

Abstract

This article provides a 20-year retrospective on non-traditional trade marks in Australia. It presents the initial findings from an empirical study on the application and registration of such trade marks in Australia, since the introduction of the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth). It concludes that while the data shows that shape and colour trade marks remain popular subjects of trade mark applications, sounds and scents have yet to live up to the hype or pose the kinds of controversies that these categories of marks were anticipated to present.

Keywords: Trade marks, brands, non-traditional signs, shape marks, colour marks

JEL Classification: K10, K19