Costs

All parties becoming involved in an opposition proceeding will need to be aware of the provisions of section 95 of the Act, and that the Commissioner may award that an unsuccessful party to a proceeding pay at least a portion of the costs of the successful party. This means that costs may be awarded once an opposition has been formally commenced and:

• one party either:
  • withdraws from the proceeding, or
  • is deemed to have abandoned the proceeding or the application through a regulated process; or
• the proceeding is determined by a formal decision by the Commissioner without any agreement as to costs having been reached.

This applies regardless of the stage of the proceeding that has been reached. The Commissioner does not usually award the full costs incurred, but awards costs on the basis of a fixed scale, depending on the stage reached. The usual costs awarded for various stages of a proceeding are as follows:

Schedule of Costs