Trademarks

28 October 2026 ·

Elise Steegstra

How do you protect a new brand without spoiling the launch

You have chosen the name, approved the design and planned the campaign. Then a preview image on YouTube gives everyone an early look. That is what happened when the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic...

12 October 2026 ·

Elise Steegstra

The True Value of Intellectual Property: Shaping Your Business Strategy

What if the most valuable thing in your business is also the thing you've never properly protected? Most business owners don't find out they have an IP problem until something forces the issue. A trade...

Charcoal handbag and pink bubble tea cup beneath a layered four petal flower, illustrating the Louis Vuitton and Molly Tea trade mark dispute.

2 October 2026 ·

Elise Steegstra

Know when to enforce

A luxury handbag and a cup of bubble tea might seem to have little in common. But the Louis Vuitton and Molly Tea dispute shows why a visual identity needs careful consideration, even when the businesses...

A bowl of long-grain Basmati rice and a glass of Pisco positioned on either side of brass scales, representing the contrasting Australian trade mark decisions.

26 August 2026 ·

Elise Steegstra

Can India Trade Mark Basmati in Australia?

Can a country protect the name of a famous regional product when that product is also legitimately made somewhere else? That was the challenge facing India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products...

Abstract image of Similar Forms, Distinct Identity being a pink blobby shape on the left and a similar sage green blobby thing on the right

12 August 2026 ·

Elise Steegstra

Brown Nose Day v Red Nose Day: When Are Trade Marks Too Similar?

What happens when two trade marks share the same basic structure, cover the same services and differ by only one colour? That was the question at the heart of the dispute between BROWN NOSE DAY and the...

Laptop using generative AI for marketing surrounded by questions about copyright, trade marks, ownership and confidential information.

29 July 2026 ·

Elise Steegstra

The Hidden IP Risks of Using AI for Marketing

AI has quickly become part of the everyday marketing toolkit. Businesses are using tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Canva AI, Adobe Firefly and other generative AI platforms to write website copy,...