Australian trade marks can be revoked within 12 months of registration: IP Australia's new Part 36

A trade mark registration in Australia is not beyond recall the moment it is granted. On 20 October 2026, IP Australia published a new Part 36 in its Trade Marks Manual of Practice and Procedure, pulling the previously scattered chapters on revocation of acceptance and revocation of registration into one place, adding the amendment or cessation of protection of international registrations, and writing in the Full Court's 2026 National Cancer Foundation decision.

Part 36 covers three powers. Before registration, the Registrar may revoke acceptance of an application under s 38.

After registration, it may revoke the registration under s 84A within 12 months of registration. For a Madrid-system trade mark protected in Australia (a 'PITM'), it may amend or cease protection under reg 17A.42A within 12 months of protection taking effect. For any of these, the Registrar must be satisfied both that the mark should not have been accepted, registered or protected, and that revocation is reasonable in all the circumstances, with procedural fairness for those affected.

The headline point is the threshold. At first instance, the judge indicated the s 84A power should be used 'sparingly'. On appeal, the Full Court (Registrar of Trade Marks v National Cancer Foundation Limited [2026] FCAFC 95) held that the word 'satisfied' in s 84A(1) imports no higher or different standard — the ordinary civil standard applies — and that the inquiry weighs the certainty of granted rights against the public interest in an accurate, pure Register. Even so, the Full Court dismissed the appeal, finding the circumstances needed to revoke had not been established.

For owners, that makes the first 12 months after registration a watch period: if a mark should not have been granted — say prior rights, an examination slip, or an overlooked opposition that triggers mandatory revocation under s 84B — the Registrar can still move within that window, provided it gives notice of the proposed revocation within 12 months and an opportunity to be heard. 'No higher threshold' means the office faces no extra-high bar to be 'satisfied'; it must still find the mark should not have been registered and that revocation is reasonable, and National Cancer Foundation shows that is not automatic.

A few details are worth keeping in mind: once revoked, a registration is treated as void from the start; where a PITM's protection is ceased or amended, the effect dates back to the original protection date and Customs is notified; and for both registration revocation and PITM protection changes, the Registrar has no duty to consider revoking, even on request.

J&C recommends that anyone filing or holding Australian trade marks (including via a Madrid designation) treat the first 12 months after registration or protection as a risk window: keep an address for service current and, on any notice of proposed revocation, exercise the right to be heard promptly; and if you want to flag a mark that should not have been granted, raising it with the Registrar within those 12 months is an option — remembering the office has no duty to act, and 'no higher threshold' is not a low one.

Source: manuals.ipaustralia.gov.au | manuals.ipaustralia.gov.au