Trade marks and the new AML laws

Anti-money laundering laws are on everyone’s mind at the moment. Here are some of the questions the law changes raise in the trade mark space:

1) If the AML changes are aimed at enhancing ownership transparency, will IP Australia require trustees to disclose where they are solely holding trade marks legally and the beneficial owner is actually a trust? As it stands, one company could be used as a front trustee, with beneficial ownership in the name of dozens of different trusts.

2) IP valuation is incredibly complex, and for this reason IP is a valuable vehicle for money laundering. As part of the AML changes, will we establish an industry standard to be used for IP valuation? This would be incredibly useful for clients wanting to transfer trade marks to an IP holding company and then licence them back. They want to make it an above-board, arms length transaction, for a fair sale price and licence fee, that stands up to scrutiny in the event that the trading company ever goes into liquidation in the future. But, it is hard (and costly) to find an external valuer to do a valuation. Could a set of standards make it easier for companies to value their IP for such intra group transfers, and also make it easier for AUSTRAC to spot outliers? (If anyone is interested in setting up an industry standard, I would be keen to be involved.)

3) If Australian lawyers and trade marks attorneys are going to be the subject of more stringent AML laws, will this further encourage trade mark applicants to use “filing assistants” (which have no actual attorneys working there) or offshore attorney firms (which have no Australian or New Zealand attorneys but somehow have an Australian address for service and act directly before IP Australia on behalf of clients)? If so, the AML laws will just push more IP work out of the country, and out of the hands of Australian lawyers and attorneys who have professional ethical obligations to ensure things are done above board. The AML laws therefore necessitate that IP Australia, and the Trans-Tasman IP Attorneys Board (TTIPAB) and the various law societies around the country take steps to ensure every non-owner address for service is a legitimate Australian or New Zealand firm with a registered TTIPAB attorney at the helm.