Australian IP Report 2026 Highlights Continued Growth

The release of the Australian IP Report 2026 highlights continued strength across Australia’s intellectual property landscape, reinforcing Australia’s position as an important jurisdiction for international brand and innovation protection.

Published annually by IP Australia, the report provides insight into filing activity, innovation trends and the broader role IP plays in business growth and commercialisation across the Australian economy.

Record Trade Mark and Design Filing Activity

One of the clearest trends emerging from this year’s report is the sustained growth in trade mark and design filing activity.

Australia recorded 97,345 trade mark applications in 2025, representing a 13.3% increase on the previous year and setting a new record for trade mark filings.

Importantly for overseas rights holders, foreign-origin filings continued to represent a significant proportion of overall activity, with China remaining the largest overseas source of trade mark applications in Australia. The data reflects the ongoing commercial importance of the Australian market for international businesses expanding their operations, distribution networks and online sales presence.

The report also highlights growing recognition among businesses that IP protection is closely linked to commercial performance. Research cited in the report found that businesses registering trade marks experienced stronger income and productivity growth compared with businesses without IP rights, while businesses obtaining a first patent grant demonstrated measurable operational efficiency gains.

Ongoing Opportunities for Overseas Rights Holders

Patent activity in Australia remained stable overall, despite ongoing global economic uncertainty. Areas including energy technologies, transport and electrical machinery continued to show strong filing activity, reflecting broader international technology and investment trends.

Design rights filings also reached record levels during 2025, reinforcing the increasing importance businesses place on protecting product appearance, packaging and visual differentiation in competitive consumer markets.

For overseas associates and rights holders, the report reinforces several important considerations:

• Australia remains a commercially active and attractive market for international businesses
• Brand protection activity continues to increase significantly
• Early filing strategies remain important, particularly before market entry
• Monitoring competitor and third-party filing activity is becoming increasingly valuable
• Design protection is playing a larger role in broader IP strategies

As international filing activity into Australia continues to grow, proactive protection strategies are becoming increasingly important for businesses seeking to expand into the Australian and New Zealand markets.