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Home > How to franchise a business > Franchise Regulations Australia > Intellectual Property Legislation
A number of legislative instruments exist to protect intellectual property in Australia, the most significant of which are administered by a federal body, IP Australia. Legislation administered by IP Australia includes:
The Copyright Act 1968 is also important for franchise sector participants in Australia, and applies to the creative expression of ideas, (not the ideas themselves). Copyright protection in Australia is automatic so you don't need to register your creative works to be covered. International treaties also protect Australian copyright material in signatory countries.
In Australia copyright is administered by the Australian Government Attorney-General's Department.
It's recommend you receive professional legal advice from an Intellectual Property Law specialist both within Australia, and with a local Intellectual Property Law expert when expanding franchise operations internationally.
Further information to assist with your understanding of copyright in Australia is available from:
Other Intellectual Property legislation which may be relevant for your franchise, if you're involved with the design of electrical or computer equipment in Australia, is the Circuit Layouts Act 1989.
Australia is also a signatory to a number of international intellectual property agreements, including the Madrid System for the international registration of marks, the Trademark Law Treaty and others.
Australia's largest trade agreement, encompassing New Zealand and the Association of South East Asian Nations, which came into force on January 1, 2010 also seeks to improve Intellectual Property protection between the signatory countries.
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