QLD What are the IP protections before creating any artworks, paintings or designs?

[Tash Dao]

Appreciate of any business and IP strategies before creating any hard-work of my artworks, paintings or designs from being copied. Will be manufactured / made in Australia (if costs / profits viable), otherwise overseas. Intend to trademark in various countries. Alternatively, would this be best to trademark all the countries first before drawing and creating any pieces, as intended?

What are the implications if certain countries do not approve my TM?

Or should I be confirmed of TM approval before drawing and creating any pieces?

Highly appreciated of much help in regards to my above queries.

Thank you,
Tash

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

That’s a whole lot of ground you’re wanting to cover. I suggest you get on to ipaustralia.gov.au, which has a whole lot of useful information and videos. Read through what is available there and if you still have further questions, come back here with some narrowed down queries.

 

[Tash Dao]

Hi Rob,

Thank you for your response, and have read through ipaustralia.gov.au website in seeking for some answers to my queries which is the reason why I have reached out to the 'lawyer's advice' online forum for some help and legal guidance.

Simply put, I would like to know WHAT are the IP's I am needing to protect BEFORE doing any visual arts or creative works, eg. paintings, designs, drawings and alikes? I understand I would need to register my trademark for my brand and business, but will this protect the type of products and how I create my business?

Much appreciated of your help.

Cheers,
Tash

 

[Rob Legat - SBPL]

Registering a trademark won’t extend any protection to other forms of IP.

Copyright is not subject to any system of registration. It is established automatically upon creation when the work is created in a ‘physical’ manner, including digitally (i.e. it is more than just an idea). The ‘trick’ is to establish some evidence of the time of creation in case there is later argument.

Copyright does not last forever. The general rules is that it lasts for the creator’s lifetime plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the creator died - unless published before death, in which case it lasts 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.

I suggest having a look at copyright.org.au for further reading.

Please note that ‘designs’ are treated differently. The artwork is protected by copyright, but when that artwork is applied to a product it becomes a design and that is subject to registration under a similar system to trademark.

As for protection outside Australia, many countries recognise copyright but you will need to check each one separately.