General prohibition
(1) A person must not:
(a) use in relation to a business, trade, profession or occupation; or
(b) apply (as a trade mark or otherwise) to goods imported, manufactured, produced, sold, offered for sale or let on hire; or
(c) use in relation to:
(i) goods or services; or
(ii) the promotion (by any means) of the supply or use of goods or services;
a protected symbol, or a symbol so closely resembling a protected symbol as to be likely to be mistaken for it.
Civil penalty: 50 penalty units.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) limits anything else in that subsection.
Use or application--corporations power
(3) A constitutional corporation must not:
(a) use in relation to a business, trade, profession or occupation; or
(b) apply (as a trade mark or otherwise) to goods imported, manufactured, produced, sold, offered for sale or let on hire; or
(c) use in relation to:
(i) goods or services; or
(ii) the promotion (by any means) of the supply or use of goods or services;
a protected symbol, or a symbol so closely resembling a protected symbol as to be likely to be mistaken for it.
Civil penalty: 50 penalty units.
(4) Nothing in subsection (3) limits anything else in that subsection.
Use or application--other legislative powers
(5) A person must not:
(a) use in relation to a business, trade, profession or occupation; or
(b) apply (as a trade mark or otherwise) to goods imported, manufactured, produced, sold, offered for sale or let on hire; or
(c) use in relation to:
(i) goods or services; or
(ii) the promotion (by any means) of the supply or use of goods or services;
a protected symbol, or a symbol so closely resembling a protected symbol as to be likely to be mistaken for it, if the use or application is in the course of, or in relation to:
(d) trade or commerce between Australia and places outside Australia; or
(e) trade or commerce among the States; or
(f) trade or commerce within a Territory, between a State and a Territory or between 2 Territories; or
(g) the supply of goods or services to:
(i) the Commonwealth; or
(ii) a Territory; or
(iii) an authority or instrumentality of the Commonwealth; or
(iv) an authority or instrumentality of a Territory; or
(h) the defence of Australia; or
(i) the operation of lighthouses, lightships, beacons or buoys; or
(j) astronomical or meteorological observations; or
(k) an activity of a constitutional corporation; or
(l) banking, other than State banking; or
(m) insurance, other than State insurance; or
(n) weighing or measuring.
Civil penalty: 50 penalty units.
(6) Nothing in subsection (5) limits anything else in that subsection.
Exceptions
(7) Subsections (1), (3) and (5) do not apply to a person who uses or applies a protected symbol for the purposes of:
(a) labelling equipment in accordance with the equipment rules; or
(b) labelling customer equipment (within the meaning of the Telecommunications Act 1997 ) or customer cabling (within the meaning of that Act), in accordance with section 407 of that Act.
(8) Subsections (1), (3) and (5) do not apply to a person who uses or applies a protected symbol for a purpose of a kind specified in a determination under subsection (9).
(9) The ACMA may, by legislative instrument, determine one or more specified kinds of purpose for the purposes of subsection (8).
(10) The equipment rules may provide that subsections (1), (3) and (5) do not apply in relation to a specified use or application of a protected symbol.