Intellectual property lawyers · Sydney

Intellectual Property Lawyers in Sydney

An intellectual property (IP) lawyer protects the assets a business owns but cannot touch: its name and logo, its inventions, its content and code, the look of its products and its confidential know-how. Lazarus Legal secures those rights for Sydney businesses, puts their ownership in writing and acts when someone copies them. Most of our IP work is quoted as a fixed fee before it starts.

Written by Mark Lazarus, Director. Lazarus Legal was established in 1975.

Speak to an IP lawyer this week Call (02) 8644 6000

Rated 4.9/5 from 70 Google reviews

Video thumbnail: Does your company own its founders' IP?

Watch: Does your company own its founders' IP?
Read more: who owns the IP your business paid for

The role

What does an intellectual property lawyer do?

An IP lawyer advises a business on what IP it owns, how to register it, how to license or sell it, and how to stop others using it. At Lazarus Legal that covers trade marks, copyright, registered designs, confidential information and the legal side of patents.

We are a commercial law firm, so the lawyer who files your trade mark can also draft the licence, the shareholders agreement and the sale contract that deal with it, and ownership stays consistent across every document.

Businesses usually contact us at one of these points:

before launching a brand, product or app, to check the name is free to use and to file for registration
Types of IP
when a competitor copies a name, logo, product or website, or sends a letter claiming you have copied theirs
When someone copies
when a key employee leaves and may take customer lists or know-how
Confidential information
before signing a licence, distribution, manufacturing or software development agreement
Agreements and licensing
before buying or selling a business or raising capital, when the other side checks who owns the IP
Who owns the IP
before expanding overseas, where Australian registrations do not apply
Protection overseas

Do you need an IP lawyer, a trade marks attorney or a patent attorney?

You need a registered patent attorney only to draft a patent specification; for most other IP work a lawyer can act. Lawyers and registered trade marks attorneys can both file and prosecute trade mark applications, and only lawyers can represent you in court.

Lazarus Legal is a law firm, not a firm of registered attorneys. We file and prosecute trade marks directly and work with a registered patent attorney on patent specifications. Our pages on the trade mark attorney and patent attorney roles explain the difference.

The basics

The main types of intellectual property and how each is protected

Each type of IP protects something different, is secured in a different way and lasts for a different period. Most businesses hold more than one. Our guide to copyright vs trademark compares the two that businesses most often confuse.

Types of intellectual property in Australia: what each protects, how you get it and how long it lasts
Type	What it protects	How you get it	How long it lasts
Trade mark	Brand names, logos, slogans and some shapes, sounds and colours	Registration with IP Australia	10 years, renewable indefinitely
Patent	Inventions: new products, processes and methods	Grant by IP Australia after examination	Up to 20 years (up to 25 for some pharmaceuticals)
Copyright	Written content, software code, images, video, music and artwork	Arises automatically when the work is created	Generally the creator's life plus 70 years
Registered design	How a product looks: its shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation	Registration with IP Australia	Up to 10 years
Confidential information	Recipes, formulas, source code, pricing, supplier terms and customer lists	Contracts and internal controls (it cannot be registered)	For as long as it stays confidential

Australian registrations apply only in Australia. You can keep your Australian filing date in other countries if you file there within six months for trade marks and designs, or 12 months for patents. A single application under the Madrid Protocol, filed through IP Australia, can extend a trade mark to many countries, and an application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty keeps overseas patent options open for longer. Copyright is recognised automatically in most countries. Our guide on how to protect your trademarks internationally covers the trade mark process.

Trade marks

A registered trade mark gives its owner the exclusive right to use the brand across Australia for the goods and services it covers. Registering a business name or company name with ASIC does not give that right: it lets you trade under the name, but not stop others using a similar one.

We search the register, choose the classes, draft the description of goods and services, file the application with IP Australia and respond if the examiner raises objections in an adverse report. Our trademark lawyer in Sydney page sets out that service in full, and our guide on how to register a trademark in Australia explains each step.
Patents

A standard patent protects an invention that is new, inventive and useful. While the patent attorney drafts the specification, we handle the legal work around it: who owns the invention, agreements with co-inventors and developers, licences and disputes.

File before you show the invention publicly. Australia allows a 12-month grace period after the inventor's own disclosure, but many countries do not, so an early disclosure can cost protection overseas.
Copyright

Copyright arises automatically in Australia, and there is no copyright register to file with. By default it belongs to the person who created the work. We draft IP assignment deeds and assignment clauses, review employment contracts for IP terms, and send cease and desist letters when content is copied.

AI-generated content

Material generated by an AI tool with little human input is unlikely to be protected by copyright, because Australian copyright law requires a human author. An AI-made name or logo can still be registered as a trade mark if it is distinctive for your goods or services. Check the AI platform's terms for who owns the output before it goes into your branding.
Registered designs

A registered design protects how a product looks. It does not protect how the product works; function is protected, if at all, by a patent. A design must be examined and certified by IP Australia before the owner can enforce it. Since March 2022 Australia has allowed a 12-month grace period after the designer's own publication, but overseas rights can still be lost, so file before release where you can. We advise on registration and infringement, and prepare and file design applications with IP Australia.
Confidential information and trade secrets

Confidential information stays protected only while it stays confidential, which depends on contracts and on how the business handles the information. We draft non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality clauses for employment and contractor agreements, and act when a former employee or contractor misuses the information. See our guides on protecting trade secrets in Australia and on what to do when an employee sets up a competing business.

Ownership

Who owns the IP your business paid for?

Copyright and inventionsCopyright and inventions generally belong to whoever created them, unless that person was your employee or assigned them to you in writing, so paying for the work does not by itself transfer ownership.

Registered designsRegistered designs are different: the right to register a product design created for you under a contract generally belongs to you unless the contract says otherwise.

Trade marksA trade mark belongs to whoever first used it in trade for the relevant goods or services, or applied to register it if no one had used it.

Employees. IP an employee creates as part of their job generally belongs to the employer. Work done outside their duties, or before they joined, does not.
Contractors and agencies. A contractor who writes your website copy, designs your logo or builds your app generally owns the copyright unless a written agreement assigns it to you.
Founders. IP a founder created before the company was set up belongs to the founder personally until it is assigned to the company. Investors and buyers check this in due diligence.
Group structures. When a holding company owns the IP and an operating company uses it, the two should have a written licence between them.

Assignment

An IP assignment deed transfers ownership.

Licence

A licence gives permission to use the IP while ownership stays where it is.

Three details are often missed when an assignment is drafted:

Moral rights. The individual who created a work keeps the right to be named as its author and to object to it being treated in a derogatory way, even after copyright is assigned. These rights cannot be transferred, so the deed should include the creator's written consent to the uses the business intends, such as editing a logo or publishing without a credit.
The IP Australia record. An assignment of a registered trade mark, patent or design takes effect between the parties when the deed is signed, but the register keeps showing the old owner until the change is recorded with IP Australia. Record it straight away, so renewal notices and other correspondence reach the right owner.
Tax. Moving IP between a founder and a company, or between related companies, can have capital gains tax consequences. The price stated in the deed and whether it is paid in cash or in shares can change the outcome, so the accountant should confirm the position before anyone signs.

Our guide to transferring or licensing a trade mark covers the trade mark side in more detail, and founders can read more on our startup lawyer page.

Example: Two founders move their brand into a holding company

This example combines common situations and does not describe a real client.

Situation

Two founders run a homewares brand through a trading company. The trade mark application was filed in the trading company's name, and the product designs and catalogue artwork sit with the founders personally. Their accountant recommends a holding company, so that the brand is less exposed if the trading company is sued or runs out of money. The reasons for that structure are set out in our article on holding companies and IP.

What we do

We prepare two documents that work together. An IP assignment deed moves the trading company's trade mark application and the goodwill in the brand, and the founders' product designs and artwork, into the holding company, with each founder's moral rights consent for the artwork. An exclusive licence then lets the trading company keep using all of it, with quality standards so its sales still count as use of the holding company's trade mark. Signing is held until the accountant confirms the capital gains tax position and whether the holding company should pay for the IP in cash or by issuing shares. Once the deed is signed, the change of owner is recorded with IP Australia.

Example: A trade mark opposition over who first used the brand

This example combines common situations and does not describe a real client.

Situation

A landscaping company applies to register its name as a trade mark. A competitor with a similar name opposes, arguing that the company is not the owner of the mark because the name was first used by the founder as a sole trader, two years before the company existed.

What we do

The competitor's point is a real one, because an application can be refused if the applicant did not own the mark when it filed. We prepare a confirmatory assignment deed in which the founder confirms in writing that the name, and the goodwill built up as a sole trader, passed to the company when it started trading, before the application was filed. The opposition evidence then traces the chain of title from the founder's first use to the company, supported by a statutory declaration with dated invoices, quotes and social media posts.

Suppliers

IP in agency, developer and manufacturer agreements

The outside businesses that design, build or make your products create IP as they work, and the agreement with each one decides who owns it. A well-drafted agreement separates three kinds of material:

Three kinds of material in a supplier agreement and who should own each
Material	Typical example	Who should own it
Background IP	The agency's own templates, code libraries and methods, or the manufacturer's processes	Stays with the supplier, licensed to you so far as the deliverables need it
Project IP	Your logo, website, app, packaging artwork or product specification	Assigned to you, usually on payment
Third-party material	Stock images, fonts, open-source code and licensed music	Neither party owns it; it is used under its own licence terms, which should allow your use

Many ownership disputes with suppliers come from an agreement that leaves one of these out, and they tend to surface when a capital raise, sale or change of supplier puts the documents under review. Investors, for example, ask for a signed assignment from whoever built the product and a list of the open-source code it uses, so they can check the licence terms. We draft and review these agreements, and fix the gaps when they come to light.

Example: A cosmetics brand changes manufacturers

This example combines common situations and does not describe a real client.

Situation

A cosmetics brand developed its moisturiser with a contract manufacturer. The manufacturing agreement covers price, minimum orders and delivery, but not who owns the formula. Two years in, the brand wants to bring production closer to its warehouse.

What we do

Our advice takes each element of the product in turn. The brand owns its trade mark and its packaging artwork, which its designer assigned to it. The manufacturer's production methods and supplier list are its own confidential information, and the agreement's confidentiality clause stops the brand handing them to a competitor. The formula is the open question, because the agreement does not say who owns it. The advice sets out what the brand can give the new manufacturer, how to have the formula developed again from the brand's own product specification, and the notice the existing agreement requires before the brand can stop ordering.

Licensing

Licensing IP and collecting royalties

A licence lets another business use your IP on agreed terms while you keep ownership. Brand collaborations, franchising, distribution, manufacturing and software arrangements all depend on one.

A licence agreement should state:

what is licensed, and in which territory
whether the licence is exclusive or non-exclusive, and for how long
the fee or royalty, how it is calculated and how the licensor can audit the figures
quality standards for products sold under your trade mark, which also keep the licensee's use counting as your use of the mark
who owns improvements the licensee makes
what happens to stock, materials and the licensee's use of the IP when the licence ends

Royalties

Royalty disputes often turn on how the agreement defines the amount the royalty is calculated on, and on whether the licensor has a right to audit. A royalty on "net sales", for example, depends on which deductions the definition allows for discounts, returns, freight and rebates. Both points should be settled when the agreement is drafted.

When you buy or sell a business, the licences it holds or has granted are reviewed as part of the purchase or sale.

Disputes

What to do when someone copies your brand, product or content

Collect evidence of the copying and of when you first used or created your own IP, then get advice before contacting the other business. Australian IP legislation allows a person aggrieved by an unjustified threat of infringement proceedings to sue the person who made it, so the first letter needs to be right.

Depending on the IP and the facts, the options are:

A cease and desist letter. Many disputes end at this stage. See our cease and desist letter lawyer page.
Opposing a trade mark application. Once IP Australia advertises that it has accepted an application, anyone has two months to file a notice of intention to oppose it.
Removing an unused trade mark. A registered trade mark that has not been used in good faith for three years can be removed from the register on application, once three years have passed since it was registered, unless the owner shows use or that circumstances prevented its use.
A domain name complaint. Disputes over .au names go through the .au Domain Administration's (auDA) .au Dispute Resolution Policy, and disputes over .com and other generic domain names through the UDRP. Both are decided without going to court, and our guide to resolving domain name disputes explains the process.
Stopping counterfeit imports. The owner of a registered trade mark or of copyright can lodge a notice of objection with the Australian Border Force, which can then seize imported goods that appear to infringe.
Court proceedings. Most IP claims are heard in the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, which can order the infringement to stop and award damages or the profits the infringer made. A brand that is not registered can still be protected through passing off or the Australian Consumer Law's ban on misleading or deceptive conduct, but these claims need evidence of an established reputation. Our commercial litigation lawyers run these cases.

If you receive a cease and desist letter

Note the deadline, keep every relevant document, and get advice before you reply. Many letters claim broader rights than the sender holds. The right response depends on whether their IP is registered, what the registration covers, and when you started using your own name or product, because continuous use that began before the other side filed for registration, and before it first used its own mark, can be a defence to a trade mark claim. Our cease and desist letter lawyer page explains how we respond.

Fees

How much does an intellectual property lawyer cost in Sydney?

Most IP work at Lazarus Legal is a fixed fee agreed before work starts: a trade mark application in up to two classes, for example, is $1,500 plus GST. IP Australia's government fees are passed on at cost.

Lazarus Legal intellectual property fees
Matter	Fee
Trade marks
Trade mark clearance search and written advice	Fixed fee quoted per name
Trade mark application, up to two classesCovers the goods and services description, filing and routine reporting through to registration	$1,500 plus GST, plus $250 plus GST for each extra class
Written submission in response to an IP Australia adverse report (examination objections)	$1,500 plus GST; responses that need evidence of use are quoted separately
Ownership and licensing documents
IP assignment deed	Fixed fee from $1,500 plus GST
Licence agreement	Fixed fee from $1,500 plus GST
Disputes and other work
Cease and desist letter	Fixed fee quoted once we have reviewed the evidence
Patent specification	Quoted by the registered patent attorney we work with
Disputes and court proceedings	Estimate given after an initial consultation
Work outside a fixed-fee scope	About $550 plus GST per hour

Our guide to how much a trademark costs breaks down every IP Australia fee, and how much lawyers charge explains our fixed-fee approach across other matters.

Speak to an IP lawyer this week

(02) 8644 6000 Book a consultation

Your team

Your intellectual property lawyers

Barry Lazarus

CEO, Notary Public

With four decades of commercial legal practice, Barry advises businesses on trade mark protection, branding strategy, and the IP dimensions of mergers, acquisitions, and franchising arrangements.

View profile
Mark Lazarus

Director

Admitted to the NSW Supreme Court and in England and Wales. Former Legal Director at Monster Energy across 50+ markets.

Mark brings experience across commercial disputes, in-house legal leadership, and founder advisory work, with a focus on IP enforcement, licensing arrangements, and protecting the intellectual assets of growing businesses.

View profile
Chen Gabay

Associate Lawyer

Chen's background spans legal practice, venture capital, and business operations, giving her a commercially grounded perspective on IP strategy, portfolio development, and the IP considerations that matter most to startups and growth-stage businesses.

View profile

Client feedback

What clients say

We’ve worked with Lazarus Legal on several matters and couldn’t be happier with the professionalism, clarity, and strategic support they’ve provided throughout. Most notably, they guided us through a complex trademark application, offering expert insight and genuine commitment to getting the outcome we needed.

Their team is responsive, thoughtful, and easy to work with which is a rare combination in the legal world. Highly recommend if you’re looking for smart legal minds with a real understanding of commercial challenges.

David ElliottChief Executive Officer, Raw & Fresh Pet Food

4.9/5 from 70 Google reviews Read our reviews

Businesses we have advised

Next step

Speak to an IP lawyer this week

Tell us what you want to protect, or what has been copied, and we will tell you which rights apply and what the work will cost.

Call (02) 8644 6000
Email info@lazaruslegal.com.au
Our office is at Suite 1, 422 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction NSW 2022

Book a consultation Call (02) 8644 6000

Before the call, send:

the name or logo you want to protect
a list of the products or services you sell or plan to sell under it
the date you first used it, with an early invoice, post or packaging photo if you have one
if the call is about a dispute, any letter you have received and screenshots of the copying
for ownership or licensing questions, the agreements with the people who created the work

Written by Mark Lazarus, Director, Lazarus Legal.