6.2 Declaration by collective association

A collective mark must be registered in the name of a collective association.²⁷ Therefore, only a collective association may apply to register as the owner of a collective mark.

A collective association is defined in the Act as follows:²⁸

(a) constituted for the joint benefit of its members for the time being; and

(b) so constituted that its membership at any time can be ascertained.

An application for registration of a collective mark must include a declaration that the applicant is a collective association as defined in section 5(1) of the Act.²⁹

A statutory declaration is not required as a matter of course, but may be requested at the discretion of the Office. The applicant should supply the following information in the declaration:³⁰

1. A statement that the collective association is constituted for the joint benefit of its members; and
2. A statement that the membership of the collective association may be ascertained at any time. This may include information such as:

• Whether the association has a list of members;
• Where the list of members list is held;
• How often the list of members is updated;
• If there are any conditions for use of the mark; and
• Whether any such conditions for the use of the mark are the same as conditions for membership of the collective association.

Footnotes

²⁷ Section 15 of the Trade Marks Act 2002.

²⁸Section 5(1) of the Trade Marks Act 2002. See also the definition of ‘owner’ in section 5(1). Under the Act, the word ‘owner’ means, in relation to a registered collective mark, the collective association in whose name the mark is registered.

²⁹ Regulation 59(b) of the Trade Marks Regulations 2003.
³⁰ Section 5(1) of the Trade Marks Act 2002.