4 Tips For Advertisers Applying Within Trade Mark Class 35
Angus
As an advertiser, applying for a trade mark within the correct class is a crucial business decision. It helps you focus your business’ direction, protects your logo, brand or identifier and puts other people on notice that they cannot infringe on your intellectual property. Therefore, there are a number of considerations to make during the process. If your business provides advertising services for other businesses, it is likely that you will file under trade mark class 35.
If you are an advertiser about to apply for a trade mark within trade mark class 35, this article will explore some of the key considerations to think about before lodging your application.
1. Use the Picklist
When applying to trade mark within class 35, it is advisable to use the picklist in order to attract the discounted filing fee. The picklist is a database of over 60,000 goods and services that have been prepared to assist applicants when lodging their trade mark applications. The database is split up between goods and services, with examples of what fits within each class available upon searching.
It is worth considering the options within class 35 in detail before deciding to lodge your application. This is to ensure that ‘advertising’ is the core service that you provide.
For example, if you are a clothing company that also happens to advertise, you would not be applying for a trade mark within class 35 because advertising is not your core business function. Rather, selling clothes is.
You can find the picklist on IP Australia’s website. It is a user-friendly search engine that all advertisers looking to lodge an application within class 35 should use.
2. Make Sure You Are an Advertising Business
Before deciding to apply to register a trade mark under class 35, you should ask yourself:
- what your business is known for;
- what services you provide; and
- how your business makes its money.
If the answer to all three questions is advertising, then you should most likely be lodging a trade mark application under class 35.
For example, if you sell promotional coffee cups with your business logo on it, but you sell software programs, you would not lodge an application under class 35. This is because advertising is not your core business. It is secondary to selling software to your customers.
3. Consider Any Additional Classes
Suppose you have a business which provides more than just advertising services. In this case, you could consider filing under additional classes if you would like to protect your intellectual property across your business streams.
You can lodge an application under multiple classes at once. It is important to note that you should only lodge an application under classes that you are:
- operating a business in; or
- providing goods and services to your customers for.
If this is not the case, you risk wasting money and not gaining any protection.
4. Work Out the Fees You Will Pay
Generally speaking, a standard application within one class using the picklist will incur a fee of $250. This amount increases if you:
- do not use the picklist; or
- have multiple classes in your application,
A TM Headstart application is broken into two components, with two fees. The first stage of the application made using the picklist attracts a fee of $200. If you decide to move to the next stage after the preliminary examination, there is an additional $130 fee. These fees are more expensive if you do not use the picklist.
Key Takeaways
Before deciding to apply within trade mark class 35, you should consider whether your business is an advertising business at its core. If it is, you should review the picklist and use it in your application to save fees. Finally, you should consider whether you need to lodge under any additional classes to ensure that your intellectual property has the most appropriate trade mark protection. If you have any questions about lodging a trade mark application within class 35, contact our experienced trade mark lawyers on 1300 657 423 or fill out the form on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
As many as you like, but remember to make sure the classes you choose reflect the goods or services you provide.
Generally, you will have a final decision on your application within three to four months. This can be longer or shorter depending on whether you have to provide additional information or whether you use a TM Headstart application.
IP Australia has detailed information booklets about class 35.