Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Intellectual Property (IP) system enables Australian businesses to protect and grow trusted brands, supporting economic growth and prosperity. A well-functioning IP system fosters innovation and encourages the development of new ideas.

This bill makes important improvements to the Australian IP system to help ensure it remains modern and fit for purpose.

A key measure in the bill improves the protection of Olympic Games insignia.

The bill will also modernise, streamline and simplify other aspects of the Australian IP system and provide more certainty to Australian businesses as they protect their great ideas.

The government has consulted on the amendment contained in this bill with key stakeholders, including the Australian and international Olympic committees, who support these changes.

The Olympic Insignia Protection Act 1987was designed to prevent unauthorised actors profiting from the Olympic movement. Under the Olympic Charter, the Australian Olympic Committee is required to take necessary steps to prohibit illegitimate use of Olympic insignia. However, ambush marketing and other unauthorised use of these insignia detract from the branding and reputation of the games. Protecting the Olympic insignia and restricting its use to the Australian and international Olympic committees helps protect the Olympic movement and ensure the games generate revenue through sponsorships and licencing arrangements.

The bill amends the Olympic Insignia Protection Act 1987to make clear that only the Australian and international Olympic committees can register Olympic insignia as trademarks in Australia. The changes align the wording of the Olympic Insignia Protection Act with the Trade Marks Act 1995, so they work together to prevent the unauthorised registration of trademark applications containing Olympic insignia. The amendment will also provide greater legal certainty for IP Australia to reject speculative trademark applications from applicants other than the Australian or international Olympic committees. Such applications can be made in an attempt to profit from activities associated with the Brisbane Olympic Games. Trademark applications made in bad faith are often filed years in advance of an Olympic event, so it is important to act now. This amendment will ensure that the Olympics Insignia Protection Act's objectives are met.

It is important to note that this only makes changes to who can protect Olympic insignia, making it clear that is limited to the AOC or IOC. It does not change the rules for how these insignia are used, which is to prevent unfair competition in commercial settings.

In addition, the bill amends the Trade Marks Act 1995, saving businesses time and hassle by simplifying processes, increasing procedural fairness, closing gaps and ensuring that government can engage with customers in a modern and flexible way. The bill will also make changes to streamline the way users interact with parts of the trademarks system.

The bill will also streamline the administration of trademark renewals by aligning the relevant grace period payments to a consistent six-month duration. Currently, in exceptional circumstances where a trademark application is still pending after 10 years, the available grace period for paying a renewal fee is up to 10 months after the renewal is due. The amendment changes the grace period for this situation to six months, aligning with the grace period for renewal fee payments under normal circumstances. This amendment will provide consistency across all trademark renewal due dates. This will also ensure that trademark registrations that are no longer active can be removed in a timely way. This will improve certainty and simplify processes for trademark owners.

The bill will also clarify requirements to revoke a trademark registration to ensure procedural fairness for all trademark owners. The amendment simplifies and clarifies provisions dealing with revocation of the registration of a trademark, where a component of a notice of opposition to registration of that trademark has been overlooked.

After a trademark is accepted by IP Australia, it can be opposed—for example, by a competitor. This opposition process consists of multiple steps. If one of these steps is overlooked, or if the opponent needs an extension of time to complete one of these steps, the trademark application might proceed to registration in error.

This amendment ensures that a trademark registered in error in these circumstances can be revoked and the opposition will resume. This will allow a fair process for both sides. The provisions for revoking registration in those circumstances will by aligned with other current oppositions processes before IP Australia.

The bill will implement safeguards to protect a trademark owner who needs an extension of time to provide evidence to help them defend against removal of their trademark for non-use. Under the Trade Marks Act, third parties can apply for trademark registrations to be removed if they have not been used. Trademarks can be defended against these non-use removals, usually by their owners.

If a due date is missed in one of these non-use proceedings, the trademark may be removed from the register of trademarks. Under the current act, that removal is irrevocable in some circumstances. So even if an owner is entitled to an extension of time, they cannot defend their registration.

This amendment clarifies provisions to enable restoration of a trademark registration where an owner missed the deadline to respond to a type of opposition, but is later granted an extension of time to respond. The amendment means an owner can continue to defend their registration if they miss a due date but are eligible for an extension of time. This will give trademark owners a fair opportunity to present their case.

The bill will modernise the way crucial information about the status of trademarks is communicated publicly. Currently, the government is required to use an official journal to communicate trademarks information. However, the world has changed, and IP Australia now publishes this same information on its website and through an online search portal which is easier to access and keep up to date. These amendments will remove the old-fashioned restrictions requiring the printed journal to be maintained and allow the government to communicate such information through up-to-date, user-friendly technology. Benefiting business by providing a single, current source of official trademark information through a modern online search portal. Moving to format-neutral provisions will reduce duplication and futureproof the administration of the IP system and enable us to deliver trademark information in an accessible way for users, when and how they want it.

Finally, the bill makes one minor amendment to the Patents Act 1990to repeal transitional provisions. These provisions apply to patents granted under the previous Patents Act 1952. The last patent protected under the 1952 act expired in February 2016, and the six-year statutory limitations period on actions for infringement under that act expired in February 2022. Therefore, these provisions will cease to serve any purpose and will be redundant. This is good regulatory practice and helps to streamline the patents system.

I am pleased to introduce this bill, which will provide legal certainty ahead of the 2032 Olympics, as well as ensure our IP system is fit for purpose in supporting Australian business to innovate and grow.

Debate adjourned.