Discover where you are in your IP journey

This IP First Response website has been designed to help IP rights holders navigate IP infringement and enforcement by making it visible, accessible, and to provide information about the factors involved in pursuing different options. It does not provide legal, business or other professional advice, and none of the content should be regarded as recommending a specific course of action. We welcome any feedback via our IP First Response feedback form and by emailing us.

What is it?

As a business owner, there’s a lot of information to grapple with and working out which IP options apply to you can be tricky. By matching your current activities to common stages in the IP journey, you can quickly see what’s most relevant now and what might come next.

‘Where am I in the IP journey?’ is a way to help pinpoint your stage in protecting and using your IP. Businesses take different IP steps depending on whether they’re just starting out, developing a product, protecting it, commercialising, or expanding.

Knowing your stage can help you focus your attention and avoid missing protections that are easier to put in place early. The IP journey often follows five broad stages:

1. Idea and readiness
You’re here if you’re still shaping your concept and testing whether it has real-world value. You may be:

Checking whether your idea is unique and protectable, such as by conducting some internet research and searching for existing trade marks, patents, designs and plant breeders’ rights (PBRs).
Protecting original material with copyright (automatically created when certain conditions are met) and keeping details confidential using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) during prototype testing.
Conducting early market research and ‘freedom to operate’ checks to identify any existing rights you might risk infringing.
Not necessarily set up a business structure yet, secured funding, or registered any IP rights.

2. Development
This is the stage where you turn an idea into something market-ready. You may be:

Creating prototypes or running service trials.
Collaborating with partners, suppliers, or researchers.
Running more detailed freedom-to-operate searches to avoid infringing others’ rights.
Deciding whether to apply for trade marks, designs, patents, or PBRs.
Beginning to think about how registered IP could make your business more attractive to potential investors.

3. Protection
Here you’ve started locking in your rights. You may be:

Applying for, or registering, relevant IP rights in Australia and any other countries you plan to use the IP.
Understanding that Australian IP rights only apply within Australia — protection in other countries usually requires separate applications, sometimes using agreements like the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). There is no single ‘international patent’ or a ‘global trade mark’.
Putting systems in place to safeguard confidential information, trade secrets, and your brand.
Making sure your IP strategy fits your business goals and timelines.

4. Commercialisation
Your IP is now part of how you make money. You may be:

Selling, licensing, or otherwise monetising your product or service.
Securing IP rights before going to market to help protect your competitive position.
Choosing your commercialisation model, such as franchising or partnering.
Actively marketing your brand and monitoring competitors for suspected infringement.
Using registered IP to help build investor confidence in your business model.

5. Growth and expansion
This stage is about scaling and staying competitive. You may be:

Entering new markets, in Australia or overseas, and considering IP protection in each new location — as registered rights do not automatically extend beyond Australia.
Managing a growing IP portfolio, including new rights for new products or services.
Continuing research and development to keep your edge.

These stages are not always strictly linear — you might revisit earlier steps as your business changes.

What is it?

See also

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