Until Federation in 1901 the registration of patents, trademarks and designs in Queensland was the responsibility of the Queensland Patents Office. As legislation of the new Commonwealth government came into force (the Patents Act 1903, commenced 1 June 1904; the Trademarks Act 1905, commenced 2 July 1906 and the Designs Act 1906 which commenced on 1 January 1907) each of these functions became a Commonwealth responsibility and the registration records were transferred to the Commonwealth government.
Patents, trademarks and designs
Patents, trademarks and designs are all forms of intellectual property, and are usually defined as follows:
Patent – A patent is an exclusive right to exploit an invention commercially, which is granted for a limited term in return for public disclosure of the invention.
Trademark – A trademark is a sign used commercially to distinguish goods and/or services of one trader from those of another. It can be a word, phrase, picture, logo, letter, shape, colour, sound, scent or aspect of packaging.
Design – Design refers to the features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornamentation, which can be judged by the eye in finished products. Design registration protects the visual appearance of manufactured products.
Record holdings
The National Archives office in Brisbane holds a range of records dating from 1860 relating to the registration of patents, trademarks and designs. These include registers, indexes and classification schemes that can be used to identify registrations of interest, as well as the records that comprise the registration, which include applications, technical drawings and art works.
Patents, trademarks and designs records held in Brisbane
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Name index book | 1860–84 | BP5/13 |
| Subject index book | 1860–84 | BP5/14 |
| Printed volumes of letters of registration granted for inventions from 1860 to 1886 | 1860–86 | BP5/16 |
| Subject index to inventions | 1884–1904 | BP5/5 |
| Drawings of inventions for letters patent | 1885–97 | BP5/2 |
| Specifications of inventions for letters patent | 1885–1904 | BP5/1 |
| Registers of patents | 1885–1904 | BP5/3 |
| Name index to record of applicants for patents | 1885–1904 | BP5/4 |
| Volumes of reports of Registrar of Patents | 1886–95 | BP5/17 |
| Classified specifications of inventions for letters patent – classes 00-1 to 99-8 – Patents Act 1903–09 | 1904–10 | BP320/1 |
| Classified specifications of inventions for letters patent – classes 00-1 to 99-8 – Patents Act 1903–21 | 1911–15 | BP320/2 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Register of trademarks | 1871–1906 | BP5/6 |
| Guide to the classification of goods for trademarks – registration | 1884–90 | BP5/15 |
| Index books – proprietors of trademarks | 1884–1906 | BP5/8 |
| Classification index to registered trademarks | 1885–1906 | BP5/7 |
| Consolidated alphabetical index of constituent particulars of trademarks – A to Z – numbers 1 to 73883 | 1906–40 | BP320/4 |
| Alphabetical index of constituent particulars of trademarks – A to Z – numbers 73884 to 215888 | 1939–67 | BP320/5 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Register of designs (with index) | 1884–1906 | BP5/9 |
| Classified representations of designs – classes 1 to 14 – Designs Act 1906–34 | 1907–59 | BP320/3 |
| Title or description of record | Date range | Series number |
|---|---|---|
| Register of approved labels of breweries, hotels and cigarette, cigar and tobacco manufacturers | 1920–43 | BP322/1 |
IP Australia
Further information about Australian registrations of intellectual property (patents, trademarks, designs and plant breeder's rights) is available from IP Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for maintaining intellectual property registers. This includes information about registrations that postdates records held by the National Archives. Databases containing details of approved registrations may be consulted on the IP Australia website or in IP Australia offices in Canberra and all state capital cities. The databases of the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office and the European Patent Office may also be accessed at these locations.
The IP Australia office in Brisbane is located at: Level 15, Brisbane Club Tower, 241 Adelaide Street, Brisbane Qld 4000 (tel: 1300 65 1010).
Other intellectual property records held by the National Archives
The National Archives also holds records of copyright registrations, which include applications and some exhibits for literary, dramatic, musical and artistic copyright registrations in Queensland before 1907. For more information please see Fact sheet 105 – Copyright records.