A registered trade mark does not last forever on its own. Registration runs for a fixed term, and the register shows the date by which the mark must be renewed. If that date passes without a renewal, the mark can be removed from the register, and the owner loses the protection it was paying for.
This guide covers where to find the renewal date, what a missed renewal can mean, how to keep a diary across many marks, and what to do when a status changes. It is general information, not legal advice.
Where the renewal date lives
Every registered mark has a record on IP Australia's Trade Mark Search register. The record shows the mark, its owner, its classes, its status and the key dates, including the renewal due date.
Do not rely on a date you wrote down when the mark was registered. Check the record itself, because the register is the source of truth. If you manage marks for other people, note the date from the record and the day you checked it.
What happens if a mark is not renewed
If the renewal is not made by the due date, the mark can be removed from the register. A removed mark no longer gives its owner the rights that came with registration, and someone else may then be able to file for a similar mark.
The detail matters here, and it is not something to guess at. Check the register and IP Australia's own guidance for whether any late-renewal option is available for a particular mark, and take advice from a trade mark attorney if a due date has passed. Do not assume a mark can be revived.
The common failure is rarely a decision not to renew. It is a renewal that nobody was watching: the notice went to an old agent, the person who owned the diary left, or the business changed hands and the mark did not move with it.
Building a renewal diary for many marks
A single mark is easy to remember. A portfolio across several entities is not. A workable diary has a few parts:
- One list of marks, by owner entity. Record the ABN or ACN of the owner, the mark number, the classes and the renewal due date.
- Reminders well before the date. Set at least three: a long lead for instructions, a mid-point for chasing, and a final reminder when anything outstanding is urgent.
- A named person for each mark. A reminder with no owner is easily ignored.
- A periodic reconcile against the register. Marks change owner, status and details. A diary built once and never rechecked drifts out of date.
- Instructions on file. Record who authorised the renewal, so the next person knows whether a mark is meant to be kept.
If you act for clients, the diary also needs to cover marks you did not file, such as ones lodged by a previous agent or by the client directly.
What to do when a status changes
A mark's status on the register tells you where it sits in its life, for example whether an application has been accepted, registered, refused, removed or has lapsed. A change is a prompt to act, not a conclusion.
- Open the record and read the status and its date.
- Compare it with what you expected. A refusal, a removal or a lapse you did not expect needs attention first.
- Check whether a step with a deadline now applies, and diarise it.
- Tell the owner, and note who you told and when.
- Record the change on the mark's file.
Also look at ownership. A mark that has been assigned to or from an entity changes who should receive notices and who should be paying for the renewal. See checking who owns a trade mark for how to read the owner details on a record.
A short checklist
- Confirm each mark's renewal due date from the register, not from memory.
- Record the owner's ABN or ACN against every mark.
- Set reminders at several points before the due date.
- Assign a person to each mark.
- Reconcile your list against the register on a schedule.
- Investigate any status or ownership change the same week you find it.
- Search for marks filed in your entity's name that you did not know about.
Trade marks sit alongside other registrations that lapse quietly. A business name that expires while still in use is the same kind of problem, and a missed ABN or company change can follow the same pattern. For the wider picture, see how to monitor a company for changes.
How MonitorHQ helps
MonitorHQ watches the IP Australia Trade Mark Search register for marks recorded against each monitored entity's ABN or ACN. It alerts you quickly to new filings, status changes and assignments, and sends reminders at 90, 30 and 7 days before a registered mark's renewal due date. A mark recorded without an ABN or ACN, or under a different entity, will not be matched, so treat it as a second check next to your own diary. See trade mark monitoring, or the trade mark attorneys page for how practices use it.