Survival analysis For patents filed between the years 1990 to 1995, business method patents and software patents have a longer active life compared to all patents. Attachment C Trade mark cluttering as a result of de-registered firms The issue of trade mark clutter, or unused live marks on the register, is often suggested as arising from the length of trade mark validity without the need for renewal payments. However, data available to determine the live or dead status of applicants for trade marks is however incomplete for Australia. Data only exists for firms that are on the Australian Business Register (ABR), and thereby excludes: private applicants, international applicants and Australian firms which have not been able to be matched to the ABR often due to issues such as name changes. Furthermore: – There is little data available on whether the applicant is still using the trade mark. One of the best proxies is the ABN or GST cancellation dates in the ABR, but issues exist in applying this. The best data available suggests that on 31 December 2014 only 1.3 per cent of trade marks registered by Australian firms were held by firms that had cancelled their ABN and/or GST number by that date. These marks were also not renewed after their lapsing date. It is unknown how representative Australian is of of a trade mark. firm ‘dying’ ‘non-use’ Due to this we can only ascertain the or status of 34 per cent of applicants for the period ‘live’ ‘dead’ 1999 to 2014 inclusive (which reflects the current full set of ABR data). However, the or status of firms on the ABR, as determined by using the GST and ABN ‘live’ ‘dead’ registration and cancellation dates, can be an unreliable proxy when checked against trade mark renewals. The primary reason for this is inaccuracies and incompleteness of the available data, where mergers, acquisitions, incorrect matches and simply different arms of a business can distort the data. A large number of trade marks have their renewal paid after the firm has de-registered their ABN or GST numbers. This indicates that although the ABN or GST status of that firm may no longer exists, there is still an applicant that finds value in maintaining their trade mark.
Survival analysis For patents filed between the years 1990 to 1995, business method patents and software patents have a longer active life compared to all patents. Attachment C Trade mark cluttering as a result of de-registered firms The issue of trade mark clutter, or unused live marks on the register, is often suggested as arising from the length of trade mark validity without the need for renewal payments. However, data available to determine the live or dead status of applicants for trade marks is however incomplete for Australia. Data only exists for firms that are on the Australian Business Register (ABR), and thereby excludes: private applicants, international applicants and Australian firms which have not been able to be matched to the ABR – often due to issues such as name changes. Furthermore: There is little data available on whether the applicant is still using the trade mark. One of the best proxies is the ABN or GST cancellation dates in the ABR, but issues exist in applying this. The best data available suggests that on 31 December 2014 only 1.3 per cent of trade marks registered by Australian firms were held by firms that had cancelled their ABN and/or GST number by that date. These marks were also not renewed after their lapsing date. It is unknown how representative Australian firm ‘dying’ is of ‘non-use’ of a trade mark. Due to this we can only ascertain the ‘live’ or ‘dead’ status of 34 per cent of applicants for the period 1999 to 2014 inclusive (which reflects the current full set of ABR data). However, the ‘live’ or ‘dead’ status of firms on the ABR, as determined by using the GST and ABN registration and cancellation dates, can be an unreliable proxy when checked against trade mark renewals. The primary reason for this is inaccuracies and incompleteness of the available data, where mergers, acquisitions, incorrect matches and simply different arms of a business can distort the data. A large number of trade marks have their renewal paid after the firm has de-registered their ABN or GST numbers. This indicates that although the ABN or GST status of that firm may no longer exists, there is still an applicant that finds value in maintaining their trade mark.
subdr612-intellectual-property.docx