The Rise in Rogue Agents Targeting Australian Trade Marks

The end of another year is always a good time to take stock of how things have evolved in within the industry. Interestingly, trade mark applications to IP Australia have risen sharply over quarters one to three, with an increase of 20.8% over the same period in 2024.

Of these, 67% were Australian applications and 33% from foreign applicants. If we look more closely at the latter and break it down by country, then some very interesting data becomes clear. By far the largest rise comes from Chinese-based applications, which are up a massive 63% over last year. In fact, these represent 18.7% of the entire annual quota, and dwarf those from all the other overseas nations combined. From our own experience within our practice, it seems a lot (although not all) of these applications match foreign party brands, where the China applicant wishes to claim ownership in Australia for the purpose of listing on the Amazon Brand Registry. We are seeing a larger number of opposition and removal actions due to this increased activity.

So, why should this be a cause for concern?

Quite simply, it’s because this upward trajectory is also being matched by an increase in AFS in dispute (or similar) recordings by IP Australia. While such issues are something we commonly deal with as trade mark attorneys, the patterns appear to be changing and, in some cases, taking some very strange pathways outside of normal infringements. 

Problems that we’re now regularly dealing with include: 

• So called Australian address for service (AFS) agents are being listed on the public record, as an Australia or NZ address is required, however, a lot are being marked as AFS in Dispute by IP Australia, implying these are not legitimate filings/agents.
• Many ‘older’ registrations are also being listed as AFS in dispute or similar.
• what were pending applications actively disappearing from the register, rather than remaining there marked with its appropriate status.

This last point is very odd indeed, and one that we have personal experience of through active monitoring in readiness to oppose.

Other peculiar behaviours that we’ve noted through industry surveillance and handling several oppositions and removal applications involving these filings:

• Applicants attempting to defend their trade mark applications, rather than simply letting them go, which would seem to be the logical choice when the application has clearly been filed in bad-faith.
• Registrants opposing removal of the target mark even though there was clearly no good-faith intention to use the mark honestly;
• Applicants and registrants filing declarations and evidence in poor format, sometimes supported by solicitor help (allegedly). We have had one case where the declarant claimed to be a solicitor but we could not find any evidence to corroborate this. The format of the declaration suggested otherwise.
• An unauthorised person taking over a large volume of Australian trade marks and appointing themselves the new agent, with no authorisation from the trade mark holders to do so.

These statistics are a true eye-opener and, if the trend continues, is something that all brand owners need to be aware of. The landscape of trade mark use, and infringement in particular, is definitely changing. This makes it even more essential that companies and anyone with a trade mark have a robust legal team on their side. This is perhaps even more important for foreign brands who trade or are interested in trading in Australia. These often appear to be the target of these applications being filed by applicants from China.

Not only is this needed for the initial registration and re-registration stages, but also ongoing through a trade mark watch service to identify any potential infringements and applications as soon as they occur.

Need More Expert Advice?

At Mark My Words Trademark Services, we’re here for every stage of your trade mark journey, from the initial registration through ongoing surveillance. Our expertise includes monitoring all industry trends, positive and negative, ensuring we’re perfectly placed to provide the best advice and service for all your brand and trade mark requirements.

Contact us today for more information.