5. Is your idea original?
You are unlikely to want to spend a lot of time or money developing an idea that somebody else already owns. IP owners can be vigilant in protecting their rights.
What might happen if you use someone else’s IP
Australian band, Men at Work, were found liable for copyright infringement of the 1934 children’s song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree for a flute riff in their hit song Down Under released in the 1980s. In 2010, the owners of the rights to the song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gumtree were awarded 5% of the royalties from 2002 onwards.
If you want to compare the music in the songs, watch these 2 videos. Men at Work – Down Under (YouTube, 3m41s):
And Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree (YouTube, 55s):
Who owns the bear shape?
Many companies will take action to try to prevent infringement of their trade mark, such as confectionary company, Haribo, protecting their bear shape.
Spanish students started a business selling alcohol-infused sweets in the shape of a bear. Haribo demanded the students stop selling the bears and transfer the ownership of the domain name of the students’ business to their company.
One of the students asked “Who does the bear shape belong to? They’re saying we can’t use the bear shape, but we don’t get that. A bear is an animal that lives in the woods. Why can’t we use it for our sweets?” (Source: The Guardian).
Check if your ideas are new
IP Australia has links to check if your patent, trade mark, design or plant breed is already registered.
- Patents – Our Patent guide has key resources for finding patents, including the Australian Patent Search (AusPat) and other international patent offices.
- Trade marks – Australian Trade Mark Search.
- Designs – Australian Design Search.
- Plant Breeder’s Rights – Australian Plant Breeder’s Rights Search.
