Skip to content
Mogged
Industry, science & resourcesAgency

Trade Marks Office

1906 – 1933

Commonwealth registry, headed by the Registrar of Trade Marks, that examined and registered trade marks for the whole of Australia under the Trade Marks Act 1905.

How it came into existence

Created in 1906, when the Trade Marks Act 1905 came into operation and Commonwealth registration of trade marks took over from the separate state registries. It had no Commonwealth predecessor.

Legislation: Trade Marks Act 1905

Changes during its life

  1. 1908The High Court, in the Union Label Case (Attorney-General for New South Wales v Brewery Employes Union of New South Wales), held invalid the Act's provisions for registering workers' (union label) trade marks.

How it ended

Its administration was combined with the Patent Office in 1933 (year uncertain), which thereafter registered trade marks alongside patents and designs.

  • Absorbed into Patent Office · 1933
    • Registration of trade marks

Main functions

  • Examination of trade mark applications
  • Registration of trade marks
  • Maintenance of the register of trade marks
  • Hearing of oppositions to registration

Where it sits

Last in the portfolio of Attorney-General's Department.

Lineage

Loading lineage…

Sources

Some dates or links for this organisation are uncertain. Corrections are welcome.