Recent developments show it's not just businesses that have to look after their brands.

Government departments - NYPD and NYFD

In the wake of September 11, street vendors started selling unofficial New York Police and Fire Department merchandise. Seeing this, both government agencies realised they had a valuable brand, and have started to register their emblems worldwide with a view to setting up official licensing agreements. The famous Canadian Mounted Police have been actively protecting their commercially exploited 'image'(they're Canadian, so they are reluctant to say 'brand') for some time.

Tourist destinations - Noosa and Venice

Now Noosa is taking action. Noosa is looking at creating a certification brand so that consumers can identify quality accomodation and services in the region. The story has received some media attention recently, and I was asked to comment on some of the legal implications by ABC Radio National. You can listen to the story by clicking on the link below:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/brkfast/stories/s691003.htm

Venice has a similar project, but it's much less extensive than the Noosa proposal.

If this is any guide, in the next few years we can expect many other government departments and local councils to look carefully at controlling use of names and images.

Trevor Choy is the principal of Choy Lawyers, ranked as one of the top 10 intellectual property law firms in Melbourne by Legal Profiles 2001/02, the legal who's who. Trevor is the only Australian lawyer who has worked in the advertising industry, and for the last 8 years has focussed on advising Melbourne's top graphic designers, ad agencies and consumer product companies. In recent months, he has been interviewed by the Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun, Channel 9's Small Business Show, Channel 7's Today Tonight, Radio National and Robert Gottliebsen for Business Daily, as well as a number of specialist publications. More information is available at http://www.choylawyers.com.au